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ENJAMiN  Harrison 
Levi  P.  Morton 


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'  d. L.Harney  •  E.CPiEf^E  • 


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Book 


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BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


The  Lives 

OF 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON 


LEVI  P.  MORTON, 


BY 


REV.  Gilbert  L.  Harney 


WITH  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY,  AND  A 
STATEMENT  OF  ITS  POSITION  ON  THE  GREAT  ISSUES 
OF  THE  PRESENT  DAY  —  THE  PLATFORM  OF  THE 
PARTY  — THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE  OF  BEN- 
JAMIN HARRISON  — STATISTICS  OF  ELECTIONS,  ETC. 

By  EDWIN  C.  PIERCE. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


PROVIDENCE,   R.   L:    J.  A.  &   R.   A.   REID,   PUBLISHERS. 

1888. 


ENGRAVERS. 


KILBURN  &  CROSS, BOSTON,  MASS. 

J.   P.  MURPHY  &  CO.,         .         .         .         .  BOSTON,  MASS- 


ARTISTS. 


SCHELL  &  HOGAN, NEW  YORK. 

FRANK  MYRICK, BOSTON,  MASS. 


Copyrighted,  i8S8, 
By  J.  A.  &  R.  A.  Reid. 


PREFACE. 


There  is  no  more  instructive  reading  than  faithful  biogra- 
phies of  great  men.  Every  period  of  the  world's  history  is 
represented  b}'  a  few  lives  ;  and  every  important  event  of  that 
period  bears  some  relation  to  one  or  more  of  those  lives ;  and 
the  spirit  of  the  period  is  the  spirit  of  those  lives.  Religion, 
philosophy,  science,  government,  politics,  have  very  little 
attraction  for  the  common  reader,  or  even  the  majority  of 
students,  when  treated  abstractly  ;  they  are  dull,  dry  morsels, 
not  easily  assimilated  by  minds  not  abnormally  disposed  to- 
ward them.  But  when  the  sympathy  of  the  reader,  or  student, 
is  awakened  in  a  person  who  bears,  in  study  or  daily  life,  a 
close  relation  to  the  religion,  philosophy,  science,  government, 
or  politics,  and  the  life  is  traced  with  interest,  he  rises  from  the 
reading  of  the  story  instructed  and  benefited. 

In  writing  the  stories  of  the  lives  of  Benjamin  Harrison 
and  Levi  P.  Morton,  constant  care  has  been  given  to  accuracy, 
to  harmony  and  relationship  of  details  with  the  absorbing 
themes  of  public  interest  with  which  the  people  associate 
them,  and  to  the  story-like  features  of  their  lives  that 
will  make  the  book  interesting  to  the  general  reader. 

1st.  If  accuracy  be  wanting,  the  book  could  be  of  no  value. 
The  desire  and  purpose  has  been  to  make  no  statement  as  of 
fact  that  would  not  bear  the  criticism  even  of  the  men  them- 
selves, and  in  that  respect  receive  their  indorsement. 

2d.  Choice  has  fallen  upon  them  for  high  offices  because  it 
was  believed  they  were  eminently  qualified  for  them.  If  they 
are,  they  have  come  to  their  present  qualifications,  partly  by 


2  PREFACE. 

inheritance  and  circumstance,  l)ut  mostly  by  their  course  of 
life  from  birth  to  manhood.  It  re([uired  long  years  to  make 
them  what  they  are  —  fitting  representatives  of  mighty  issues 
and  principles.  It  is  no  straining  of  facts,  therefore,  but  a 
pleasing  adherence  to  truth,  to  observe  that  harmony  and  rela- 
tionship of  the  details  of  their  lives  with  these  great  themes. 

3d.  If  a  character  is  consistent,  the  line  of  life  will  carry  its 
central  principles  from  first  to  last,  and  a  faithful  record  of  it 
will  read  like  a  story-book.  This  is  its  charm  to  all  readers  ; 
and  this  is  the  special  charm  of  the  lives  of  these  men.  Partic- 
ular care  has  been  taken  to  discover  these  lines  of  principles 
and  trace  them,  not  in  a  philosophical  manner,  as  if  writing  a 
treatise  on  those  principles,  but  in  a  simple,  straight-forward 
narrative. 

Sources  of  information  have  been  various,  but  not  always  re- 
liable. It  has  been,  therefore,  no  easy  task  to  separate  the  true 
from  the  fictitious  and  sensational.  Thanks  arc  due  to  those 
friends  who  have  kindly  assisted  in  this  task,  as  well  as  sup- 
plied further  points  for  record. 

If  this  book  shall  succeed  in  honoring  these  men  as  they 
deserve  to  be  honored,  and  in  showing  them  forth  as  repre- 
sentatives of  those  principles  they  are  selected  to  champion, 
and  in  stirring  the  ambition  of  young  men  to  like  noble  lives, 

its  ol)icct  shall  have  been  accomplished. 

G.  L.  H. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  FIRST. 
LIFE  OF  GENERAL  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Ancestral  Line, 
birth  of  harrison a  valuable  ancestral  line a  mem- 
orable event  in  english  history  thomas  har- 
rison's principles  successful harrisons  identi- 
fied with  virginia  history  a  brief  but  sugges- 
tive record a  famous  homestead  —  a  famous  son 

—  record  of  tippecanoe a  notable  birth  in  vin- 

cennes a  more  notable  one  in  north  bend, 

Pages  17-34 

CHAPTER  II. 
Boyhood  of  Harrison. 

a  typical  american  boy  typical   american  people  

the  boy  at  home characteristics his  surround- 
ings  the   family his   tutors his    manner    of 

study    and  application the    log    cabin    under- 
goes changes  —  the  campaign  of   184o first  whig 

victory  history  of  a  movement a  people's  cam- 
paign  songs,  banners,  and  badges a  great  day 

at  the  harrisons death  of  the  president  im- 
PRESSIONS    ON    THE  BOY,            .             .             •            PaGES  35-45 


4  COXTENTS. 

CHAPTER  III. 
The  Young  Student, 
the   boy  goes  from  home the   home   he   left far- 
mer's   college  keeps    up    his     reputation' his 

teachers returns   home death  of  his  mother 

goes  to  miami  university two  young  friends 

loins   the    presbyterian  church professors   and 

classmates — a   successful    two    years inclines 

toward  the  law another  college  in  the  town 

—  a  romantic  episode he  graduates  with  hon- 
ORS,           •      Pages  47-53 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The   Law    Student. 

a   characteristic   resolution a   noted    law   firm  

first  contact  with  public  men a  review  of  the 

political  situation  his  home  while  reading  law 

heart  turns  towards  oxford the  romance  ends 

propitiously a  happy  event —  living  with    the 

old  folks an  unexpected  inheritance another 

CHARACTERISTIC    RESOLUTION,  .  .       PaGES    54-63 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Young  Lawyer. 

journey   to   lawrenceburg thence    to  indianapolis 

the  city  at  that   time a  lu'mble  cottage 

HE  PUTS  OUT  HIS  "SHINGLE" POOR  PROMISE  OF  SUC- 
CESS  DAYS     SPENT     IN    ABSTRACT     OFFICE OFFICE    OF 

JOHN  H.  REA,  CLERK  OF  DISTRICT  COURT  OF  UNITED 
STATES A  PROVIDENTIAL  OPPORTUNITY POINT  LOOK- 
OUT BURGLARY  CASE  —  PARTNERSHIP  WITH  WILLIAM 
WALLACE  —  ANOTHER  CASE  BRINGS  HONOR PARTNER- 
SHIP WITH   w.   p.'fishback.          .          .          Pages  65-73 


CONTENTS.  5 

CHAPTER  VL 
The  Young  Politician. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1S56-THE  NEW  PARTY  AND  ITS  PRINCI- 
PLES _  A  SUCCESSFUL  CANDIDACY—  A  MEMORABLE 
DEBATE  AT  ROCKVILLE— THE  LINCOLN  CAMPAIGN  —  A 
RETROSPECTIVE  VIEW  OF  THE  POLITICAL  PARTIES  —THE 
SITUATION  IN  i860  — WHIG  PRINCIPLES  AND  FREE  SOIL 
ISSUES  — THE  SUCCESSFUL  CAMPAIGN  —  THE  REPORTER 
IN     OFFICE  — THE    GUNS  OF    SUMTER—   BOUND    AT    HOME 

-A  PATRIOT, Pages  74-86 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Patriot  Soldier. 

"THREE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  MORE  "  —  THE  EFFECT  ON  THE 
YOUNG  PATRIOT— A  VOLUNTEER  RECRUITING  AND  EN- 
LISTING SERVICE  —  COLONEL  OF  THE  SEVENTIETH  INDI- 
ANA—KENTUCKY AND  TENNESSEE— FIRST  BRIGADE  OF 
THE  THIRD  DIVISION  OF  THE  TWENTIETH  ARMY  CORPS  — 
THE  ATLANTA  CAMPAIGN— THE  BATTLE  OF  RESACA  — 
"COME    ON,    boys!"  — THE     BATTLE      OF      PEACH      TREE 

CREEK  A     LETTER    FROM     GENERAL    HOOKER    TO     THE 

SECRETARY  OF  WAR  —  ITS  RESULT  A  PROMOTION  —  A 
PARTISAN  INSULT  AT  HOME  —THIRTY  DAYS  LEAVE  OF 
ABSENCE  —  REELECTION  —  SHERMAN  AT  SAVANNAH  — 
AN  OLD-FASHIONED  BATTLE  AT  NARROWSBURG —VICTORY 
JOINS     SHERMAN THE  GENERAL    RETURNS    HOME, 

Pages  87-109 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
A  Lawyer  of  Experience. 

TAKES    UP    ROUTINE  OF    OFFICE    OF    REPORTER A     VIEW     OF 

THE     SITUATION  —  GENERAL     HARRISON    RESUMES     PRAC- 


6  CONTENTS. 

rrCE    OF    LAW SOME    NOTED    CASES THE    CHARACTER 

OF     THE     MAN — THE    CITIZEN    AND    CHRISTIAN  —  CONFI- 
DENCE OF  ASSOCIATES FAMILY MR.  FISHBACK  LEAVES 

THE      FIRM "PORTER,      HARRISON     &     HINES" "HAR- 
RISON     &      HINES  " "HARRISON,     HINES     &      MILLER  " 

THE    "clem"    CASE,  .  .  .  PaGES   III-I23 

CHAPTER  IX. 
Victory  in  Defeat. 

THE     campaign     OF     1S76  THE    NATIONAL     CANDIDATES 

BEFORE    AND     AFTER    THE     CRISIS    OF     1S73  THE     CAM- 
PAIGN     IN      INDIANA  THE       CORRUPTION     FUND  THE 

STATE     TICKET  —  A     CHANGE A     POPULAR     DEMAND 

TASK    NO  OTHER    COULD    FILL AN    ENERGETIC  CANVASS 

—  INCIDENTS  "come     ON,     BOYS  !  " THE     RESULT     A 

VICTORY    IN  DEFEAT ACQUAINTANCE  IN    THE   STATE 

IN  DEMAND  FOR  THE  GENERALCAMPAIGN,    PaGES   I23-I36 

CHAPTER  X. 

Lawyer   and   Politician. 

A    LEADER    OF    THE    INDIANA     BAR  THE    STRIKE    OF    1S77  — 

ON    THE    SIDE    OF   SYMPATHY THE     CAMPAIGN    OF     1S78 

CONTEST     WITH      GREENBACKERS MEMBER     OF     THE 

MISSISSIPPI  RIVER  COMMISSION AN  INDUSTRIAL   PARADE 

THE      CAMPAIGN      OF       iSSo  THE       UNITED       STATES 

SENATE  A    VIEW    OF     THE    LAWYER,    THE     POLITICIAN, 

THE  MAN, Pages  137-153 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Senator  and  Citizen. 

REM0\'AL     TO     WASHINGTON THE     OLD     HOME      AT     INDIAN- 
APOLIS—  A     TYPICAL      AMERICAN      WOMAN  —  DAUGHTER 


CONTENTS.  7 

AND     SON THE    NEW    HOME    AND    SOCIETY SIX    YEARS 

OF      SOCIAL     VICTORIES TWO     MARRIAGES HARRISON 

IN      THE      SENATE THE     BURLINGAME      TREATY THE 

HISTORY    OF    CHINESE    LEGISLATION THE    DAKOTA     RE- 
PORT    AND     SPEECHES MEMBER     OF     THE      COMMITTEE 

ON     FOREIGN     RELATIONS THE    CONTRACT    LABOR    BILL 

ALIEN     OWNERSHIP     OF     AMERICAN     SOIL A    REVIEW 

OF     RECORD HISTORY     OF    THE     SECOND     CONTEST    FOR 

SENATORSHIP HOME    AGAIN,  .  .         PaGES  I54-174 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Citizen  and  Candidate. 

resumes  the  practice  of  law cases a  view  of  the 

man   as  a  citizen whom  the  indianians  wanted 

FOR    PRESIDENT WORK  OF  THE  INDIANAPOLIS  JOURNAL 

OTHER    CANDIDATES HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT 

THE  GREAT  CONVENTION ITS    HISTORY THE    NOM- 
INATION   GENERAL    SATISFACTION    AMONG    DELEGATES 

ENTHUSIASM  THROUGHOUT  THE    COUNTRY ENTHUSI- 
ASM   AT    HOME —  "COME    ON,    BOYS  !  "         ,  PaGES   175-2OI 

CHAPTER  Xni. 
A  Characteristic  Speech. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  A  YOUNG  PARTY A  "  BOOK  OF  MAR- 
TYRS " CONDITION     OF     THE     COUNTRY    IN1S61  WAR, 

FINANCE,        diplomacy;       GRANT,        CHACE,        SEWARD 

achievements  of  the  republican  party work  yet 

to  be  done equality  in  all  the  states protec- 
tion to  american  industries  and  american  labor, 

Pages  202-2 is 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Record  in  Speeches. 

the  principle  of  control  by  the  majority  the  corner- 
stone of  american  go\'ernment — democratic  slan- 
ders  tariff   utterances — a   cruel    page  in   our 

history principle  of  the  dependent  pension  bill 

the  ad^^ssion  of  dakota  to  the  uniox  discour- 
aged republicans  in  south  carolina — tenure-of- 
office   act,  and   the   democratic   star  chamber  — 

civil     service      commission sea-coast    defense 

places  for  the  surplus a  plea  for  the  union  of 

temperance  forces home  rule  in  ireland why 

a  change  of  administration  is  desirable, 

Pages  216-237 


Part  Second. 

THE  LIFE  OF  LEVI   PARSONS  MORTON. 

CHAPTER  I, 

Ancestry. 

A    PASSENGER    ON    THE    SHIP    ANN  —  A     SETTLER    IN     MIDDLE- 

BORO',  MASSACHUSETTS LATER  GENERATIONS A  BIRTH 

IN    MAINE  — REMOVAL   TO    VERMONT  SCHOOL    AT    MID- 

DLEBURY,        VERMONT STUDIES       FOR        THE      MINISTRY 

REMOVAL      TO      SHOREHAM  —  ANOl'HHR        FAMU.Y        OF 

MASSACHUSETTS  REMOV^VL    TO    ADDISON    COUNTY,   VER- 
MONT  THE       FIRST      AMERICAN        MISSIONARY      TO     THE 

HOLY      LAND ^L^I{I^AGH THE      FOl'I{TH       CHILD  —  HIS 

NAME,        ......         Pages    241-247 


CONTENTvS.  9 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Boyhood  of  Morton. 

THE    preacher's    SALARY  —  A    FAMILY    OF    EIGHT  —  HOW    TO 

EDUCATE      THE      CHILDREN THE     COMMON     SCHOOL     AT 

SHOREHAM  THE       INFLUENCE      OF       HOME COUNTRY 

STORE    IN    ENFIELD  —  A  TWO    YEARS'  PRACTICAL  SCHOOL- 
ING —  APTITUDE       FOR       BUSINESS  HABITS  MIND  

ANOTHER     COUNTRY     STORE A     MARK     OF     EMPLOYER'S 

CONFIDENCE  —  BRANCH       STORE      IN      HANOVER  DART- 
MOUTH   COLLEGE FOUNDATION     FOR     FUTURE     SUCCESS 

FIRST     VOTE     AND    POLITICAL    VIEWS ANOTHER    AD- 
VANCE IN  1849,         .         .         .         •          Pages  248-254 

CHAPTER  III. 
Business  and    Financial   Record. 

"BEEBE       &      company"— JOINED      BY      MR.      MORGAN  —  MR. 

MORTON    A    RESIDENT    PARTNER    IN    NEW    YORK DEATH 

OF      HIS       FATHER "MORTON      &      GRINNELL," FIRST 

MARRIAGE A      FINANCIAL     FAILURE A    NEW     FIRM 

AN    HONORABLE     DEED  — MR.     BLISS     ENTERS     THE    FIRM 

"MORTON,    ROSE    &   COMPANY,"    LONDON DEATH    OF 

HIS    WIFE YEARS    OF    BRAVERY     UNDER     AFFLICTION 

another  happy  marriage  "  halifax   award 

story  of  the  resumption  of  specie  payment, 

Pages  255-269 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Congressional  Experience. 

a     surprise     to     MR.    MORTON NOMINATED     FOR    CONGRESS 

A    REDUCTION     OF     DEMOCRATIC    VOTES  NOMINATED 

AGAIN AN  OVERWHELMING  MAJORITY A    PROMINENT 

POSITION    IN    CONGRESS  —  SOME    BILLS     HE      INTRODUCED 


lo  CONTENTS. 

SPEECH     ON     THE     UNLIMITED     SILVER     COINAGE     BILL 

SPEECH     ON     THE     lULL      FOR     EXCHANGE      OF      TRADE 

DOLLARS     WITH      LEGAL-TENDER    DOLLARS SPEECH    ON 

APPROPRIATION  FOR  INTERNATIONAL  FISHERY  EXHIBI- 
TION   CHARACTERISTICS   OF    THE  MAN  IN  HIS  SPEECHES 

—  A    SOCIAL    SUCCESS,        .  .  .  PaGES    271-287 

CHAPTER  V. 
Minister  to  France. 

THE     CAMPAIGN      OF      1880  MR.      MORTON      DECLINES       THE 

OFFER  OF  VICE-PRESIDENCY  DECLINES  THE  SECRE- 
TARYSHIP     OF      THE     NAVY ACCEPTS     THE      OFFER      OF 

MINISTER     TO    FRANCE WELL    FITTED    FOR     THE     POST 

REMOVAL  OF  AMERICAN  LEGATION  OFFICE  —  A  POLIT- 
ICAL GATHERING  PLACE  THE  MORTON  ENTERTAIN- 
MENTS   IN    FRANCE MRS.    MORTON'S    SOCIAL    TACT    AND 

SKILL THE       DISABILITY      REMOVED      FROM      AMERICAN 

CORPORATIONS THE     AMERICAN     HOG  A      SERIES     OF 

IMPORTANT  ACTS  TARIFF  ON  FRENCH  ART  BIRTH- 
PLACE OF  LAFAYETTE MINISTER     MORTON'S    SPEECH  

PRESENTATION  AND  RECEPTION  OF  BARTHOLDl's  STA- 
TUE    OF      "  LIBERTY      ENLIGHTENING      THE      WORLD   "  

TWO    SPEECHES,       .....     PaGES    388-309 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Brilliant  Closing  of  Ministry  to  France, 
election  of  18s4 mr.  morton   prepares   to  resign 

INAUGL'UA TION  OF  ORIGINAL  MODEL  OF  "LIBERTY  EN- 
LIGHTENING     THE      world" AN      EARLY      BANC^UET  

SCENE  ON  THE  PLACE  DES  ETATS-UNIS PRESENTA- 
TION     SPEECH      BY     MR.      MORTON  RECEPTION      BY      M. 

BRISSON   SPEECHES    BY    M.    BOUE,    M.    DE    LESSEPS,  AND 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

SENATOR     LAFAYETTE INVITATION     TO     A      FAREWELL 

BANQUET THE  TOASTS TESTIMONIES  OF  APPRECIA- 
TION   FROM    FRENCH    AND    AMERICANS A    RESPONSE    BY 

MR.      MORTON   REPORTS      FROM      PARIS      AND      LONDON 

PAPERS    A       PERSONAL       TESTIMONY       BY       PRESIDENT 

GREVY, Pages  311-327 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Home  and  Charities, 
no.  85  fifth  avenue  —  "  fair  lawn  "  "  ellerslie  " 

DOMESTIC     CHARACTER     AND     TASTES  FAITHFUL     AND 

ACCOMPLISHED      WIFE      AND      DAUGHTERS  A      MAN      OF 

BENEVOLENCE "ONE    QUARTER      OF      THE      CARGO     OF 

THE  CONSTELLATION  "  DETERMINATION  IF  NOT  AC- 
CEPTED    $50,000  FOR  RELIEF  OF  WORKINGMEN  DURING 

ROCKAWAY  BEACH  IMPROVEMENT  TROUBLES  TESTI- 
MONY OF  GRATEFUL  EMPLOYES  A  GIFT  TO  DART- 
MOUTH COLLEGE  — OLEOMARGERINE  LAWS  —  A  RECORD 
WORTHY    OF    HONOR,     ....         PaGES    328-335 


PART  THIRD. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY,  ITS  RECORD  AND 
ITS  PRESENT  POSITION. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Its  Glorious  Achievements. 

REPEAL  OF  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE  —  POLITICAL  BREAK- 
UP  FORMATION  OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY ELEC- 
TION OF   1856 FREEDOM    OR     SLAVERY     IN     THE     TERRI- 


12  CONTENTS. 

TORIES LIN'COLX     AND     DOUGLAS     DEBATE ELECTION 

OF     ABRAHAM      LINCOLN SECESSION WAR      FOR      THE 

UNION  UNPATRIOTIC     ATTITUDE     OF     THE    DEMOCRATIC 

PARTY THE     REPUBLICAN     PARTY    THE     DEFENDER     OF 

NATIONALITY EMANCIPATION ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF 

THE  COLORED  RACE,  .  .  .  PaGES  SZ9~35^ 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Tariff. 

review    of    the    tariff    controversy the    question 

STATED    BY  MR.   BLAINE  INJURIOUS  EFFECTS  OF  TARIFF 

REDUCTIONS TARIFF  OF    1857  PROTECTION  AND  FRKK 

TRADE  AS  A  POLITICAL  ISSUE  IN     THE    UNITED     STATES  

TARIFF  OF   18S3 PRESIDENT     CLEVELAND'S    MESSAGE 

THE     RAW     MATERIALS     QL'ESTION THE      DOCTRINE     OF 

PROTECTION, Pages  352-371 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Mills   Bill,  and  the   Surplus  and    Whiskey 
Tax  Ql'Estions. 

ascendency  OF    THE  FREE     TRADE  DEMOCRATS THE  MILLS 

BILL ITS  PASSAGE  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES 

THE     WOOL     QUESTION  THREATENED     PROSTRATION 

OF  INDUSTRIES UNWISE  POLICY  OF  THE  COTTON  INTER- 
EST  MINNESOTA    AND     THE     TARIFF THE    MILLS    BILL 

NOT  A  MEASURE  FOR  THE  REDUCTION  OF  THE  SURPLUS 

SUGAR     TARIFF TRUSTS THE    REPUBLICAN     PLAN  FOR 

REDUCING  THE  SURPLUS THE  WHISKEY  TAX, 

Pages  372-^Sj 


CONTENTS.  13 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Labor  Question. 

labor   question   related  to    politics speech    of  s.  b. 

elkins the  republican  party  the  labor  party  of 

the  country the  homestead  act protection 

fair  elections    and    national     aid    to    education 

ESSENTIAL  LABOR  MEASURES,  .  PaGES  389-399 

CHAPTER  V. 

Free  and  Fair  Elections, 
the   suppression   of  suffrage    in   the    south grover 

CLEVELAND        NOT       FAIRLY       ELECTED  MR.      BAYARD's 

prophecy impartial  testimony  as  to  democratic 

fraud the   silent   south republicans   pledged 

to  restore  the  ballot  to  the  colored  race mr. 

Blaine's     augusta     speech — a    free   ballot    the 

ground   of  republican  unity  the  south  dakota 

QUESTION, Pages  400-41 1 

CHAPTER   VI. 

Pensions. 

dependent  pension  bill  of  1s87 veto    of    president 

cleveland dependent    pension    bill    of    1888 

mr.  cleveland  and  the  democrats  unwilling  to 
do  justice  to  the  soldiers  of  the  union  wash- 
ington and    cleveland    in    contrast \-etoes    of 

SPECIAL    PENSION    BILLS,       .  .  .         PaGES    412-417 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Civil  Service  Reform, 
a  delusion  and  a  sham  under   president    cleveland's 
administration the    president's    promises— the 

president's   PERFORMANCE,  .  .  PaGES    418-435 


14  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
The  Fisheries  Question. 

THE    HONOR    OF     THE     REPUBLIC    INVOLVED     IN    THE    PROTEC- 
TION    OF     THE      RIGHTS      OF      ITS      CITIZENS NATIONAL 

VALUE    OF    THE     FISHING     INTEREST TREATY    OF    iSlS 

CANADA      COVETS      OUR      MARKET  CANADIAN      OUT- 
RAGES  TREATY    OF    1854 TREATY     OF     WASHINGTON 

THE     FISHERIES    AWARD    MORE       OUTRAGES  THE 

DISGRACEFUL    SURRENDER     OF    CLE^•ELAND    AND    BAYARD 
TO    ENGLAND, PaGES   436-45 1 

CHAPTER  IX. 
The  Temperance  Question. 

ONE  GREAT  ISSUE  AT     A     TIME PROHIBITION  NOT  THE  ISSUE 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  THE  TRUE     REFORM  PARTY 

THE      DEMOCRATIC      PARTY        HOSTILE      TO      TEMPERANCE 
MEASURES THE     PROHIBITION  PARTY    A  HINDRANCE    TO 

RiiFOKM,  .....  Pages  452-459 

CHAPTER    X. 

The  Republican  Platform  for   iSSS,        .       .      460-46S 

CHAPTER   XI. 
General  Harrison's  Letter  of  Acceptance,  .  469-497 


LLUSTRATIONS. 


Birthplace  of  General  Harrison  at  North  Bend,  Ohio,       .  31 

Residence  of  Benjamin  Harrison  in  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  .  q6 
House  in  which  General  and  Mrs.   Harrison  Commenced 

House-keeping,        .........  177 

The  White    House,    or   Executive  Mansion,    Washington, 

D.  C, 211 

Scene  in  the  Chicago  Convention, 338 

Log  Cabin  and  Scene  among  the  Pioneers,  .  Title  Page 

PORTRAITS. 
Benjamin  Harrison,         ......         Frontispiece. 

President  William  Henry  Harrison, 16 

Mrs.  Benjamin  Harrison, 64 

Abraham  Lincoln,  .        .        .        .         .        .        .        .         .110 

(The  First  Republican  President.) 
Russell  B.  Harrison,  ........     131 

(Son  of  General  Benjamin  Harrison.) 
Ulysses   S.  Grant,       .        .  ...  ....     147 

(The  Second  Republican  President.) 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  ........     igt; 

(The  Third  Republican  President.) 

Levi  Parsons  Morton, 240 

Mrs.  Levi  P.  Morton, 2-0 

James  A.  Garfield,        .........     310 

(The  Fourth  Republican  President.) 

Chester  A.  Arthur, 388 

(The  Fifth  Republican  President.) 


WILLIAM   HtNRY    HARRISON, 

NINTH    PRESIDENT    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES, 


Part  First. 

THE  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   HARRISON 


Chapter  I. 


ANCESTRAL  LINE. 

BIRTH    OF    HARRISON  —  A  VALUABLE    ANCESTRAL    LINE A  MEMORABLE 

EVENT    IN     ENGLISH    HISTORY  THOMAS     HARRISON's     PRINCIPLES 

SUCCESSFUL  —  HARRISONS  IDENTIFIED  WITH  VIRGINIA  HISTORY  — 
A  BRIEF  BUT  SUGGESTIVE  RECORD  —  A  FAMOUS  HOMESTEAD  —  A 
FAMOUS  SON  —  RECORD  OF  TIPPECANOE  — A  NOTABLE  BIRTH  IN 
VINCENNES  A    MORE     NOTABLE     ONE     IN     NORTH    BEND. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  born  August  20,  1833,  at  North 
Bend,  Ohio. 

A  truly  great  man  does  not  depend  for  honor  upon  prestige 
or  ancestry.  He  wins  his  own  fame,  and  the  record  of  his 
personal  life  is  his  glory  among  his  fellows.  This  is  true  of 
this  man.  If  honor  and  praise  were  all  that  is  to  be  sought 
for  him,  the  simple  recital  of  the  story  of  his  life  from  the 
cradle  to  the  prime  of  his  manhood  would  be  sufficient.  No 
ambition  can  be  purer  in  quality  and  more  honorable  in  itself, 
than  that  of  the  man  who,  possessing  all  the  requirements  for 
2 


i8  THE  LIFE  OF 

fame  without  merit  or  noble  eHbrt,  seeks  to  rise  on  personal 
merit,  or  not  to  rise  at  all. 

This  ambition  has  marked  the  life  of  Benjamin  Harrison. 
W'liile  not  despising  those  ancestors  of  renown,  and  pleased 
that  blood  so  noble  flows  in  his  own  veins,  he  has  sought, 
with  something  of  anxiety,  to  win  what  laurels  he  might  win, 
solely  by  his  own  merits.  If  good  blood  is  of  any  value,  let  it 
be  manifested  in  the  deeds  of  the  man,  not  in  the  heralding 
of  the  circumstance. 

But  a  record  of  lineage  is  sometimes  valuable.  First,  it  is  a 
revelation,  in  some  degree,  of  the  man's  Inherited  possibilities; 
and  while  this  is  an  inquiry  the  public,  with  proper  motive, 
has  a  right  to  make,  it  allows  the  man  the  additional  triumph 
of  exhibiting  in  his  life  the  prophesy  of  blood  fulfilled.  Second, 
it  allows  the  tracing  of  those  influences  —  family  traits  and  in- 
clinations and  ways  of  thinking — that  helped  to  make  the  boy 
what  he  was.  and  the  man  what  he  is.  No  biography  can  be 
complete,  therefore,  without  some  such  record. 

One  of  the  first  Harrisons  of  whom  there  is  any  authorized 
public  account,  and  from  whom  General  Harrison  descended, 
was  a  martyr  to  the  cause  of  huiuan  liberty.  Major-General 
Thomas  Harrison  was  one  of  Cromwell's  generals.  He  con- 
veyed the  king,  Charles  I.,  from  Hurst  to  Windsor  Castle; 
from  Windsor  Castle  to  Whitehall  for  trial ;  sat  as  one  of  his 
judges,  and  signed  his  death-warrant. 

It  is  of  some  interest  to  note  the  character  of  that  Harrison, 
as  it  was  manifested  in  his  manner  of  performing  those  tragic 
duties.  Charles  had  bten  warned  that  his  escort's  instructions 
were  to  assassinate  him  on  the  way  ;  but  when  he  saw  the  sol- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  19 

dierly  bearing  of  the  latter,  he  frankly  confessed  his  fear,  aroused 
by  the  warning,  and  that  it  had  now  been  somewhat  quieted. 
Harrison  informed  his  majesty  that  "  he  needed  not  to  enter- 
tain any  such  imagination  or  apprehension  ;  that  the  parlia- 
ment had  too  much  honor  and  justice  to  cherish  so  foul  an 
intention  ;  and  whatever  it  resolved  to  do  would  be  public,  and 
in  a  way  of  justice  to  which  the  world  should  be  witness,  and 
would  never  endure  a  thought  of  secret  violence." 

When  Charles  II.  was  restored  to  the  throne,  of  course  those 
most  active  in  the  revolution  fell  under  his  wrath.  The  inim- 
itable Samuel  Pepys  made  the  following  statements  in  his  diary 
of  October  13,  1660  : 

"I  went  out  to  Charing  Cross  to  see  Major-General  Har- 
rison hanged,  drawn  and  quartered  ;  which  was  done  there,  he 
looking  as  cheerful  as  any  man  could  do  in  that  condition,      . 

.  .  It  is  said  that  he  said  that  he  was  sure  to  come  shortly 
at  the  right  hand  of  Christ,  to  judge  them  that  now  had  judged 
him  ;  and  that  his  wife  do  expect  his  coming  again." 

Had  the  cause  of  Cromwell  been  successful,  even  English 
writers  would  not  have  considered  General  Harrison's  offense  a 
crime,  nor  even  an  offense  at  all.  But  that  cause,  though  un- 
successful as  to  its  immediate  aims,  was  not  a  failure.  The 
principles  for  which  Thomas  Harrison  fought  and  died  ffourish 
to-day  both  there  and  here,  while  with  the  death  of  Charles  I. 
died  from  the  hearts  of  Englishmen  his  doctrines  ;  for  though 
the  son  of  Charles,  as  well  as  subsequent  sovereigns  of  England, 
may  have  presumptuously  recognized  those  doctrines  in  petty 
ways,  yet  in  policy  they  have  recognized  the  changed  feeling 


20  THE  LIFE  OF 

f)f  the  Englisli  Nation.     By  tliat  revolution  was  our  revolution 
made  possible. 

Men  of  the  spirit  of  the  Harrisons  are  intolerant  of  intoler- 
ance. For  this  reason,  even  before  tlie  bloody  times  of  the  Eng- 
lish revolution,  some  of  them  emigrated  to  the  freer  American 
Colonies.  They  came  to  Virginia ;  anci  from  that  day  to  this 
the  Harrisons  have  been  identified  with  the  soil  and  blood  of 
that  great  State.  And  there  they  fostered  the  principles  of 
human  freedom. 

In  the  northwest  of  England,  through  the  county  of  Lan- 
caster into  the  Irish  Sea,  flows  the  River  Ribble.  Here,  along 
the  banks  of  this  stream,  according  to  private  records,  was  the 
English  home  of  the  Harrisons.  From  this  region  Benjamin 
Harrison,  cousin  to  the  martyr,  emigrated  to  the  shores  of 
America,  in  1635  —  twenty-five  years  before  the  execution  of 
his  illustrious  relative. 

■That  Benjamin  Harrison  —  first  of  the  name  and  fjmiily  in 
this  country  —  settled  in  Surry  County,  Virginia,  on  Wam- 
iskioke  Creek,  just  across  the  James  from  Jamestown,  and 
only  twenty-eight  years  after  the  settlement  of  that  colony. 
Either  here,  or  in  England  just  before  the  emigration,  a  son 
was  born  to  him,  who  was  also  named  Benjamin. 

This  son  grew  up  on  his  father's  farm  in  Surrv  ;  and  when 
he  was  of  age  he  married  Hannah  Cliurchill,  of  the  renowned 
family  of  Churchills  in  England,  to  which  belonged  the  Duke 
of  Marlborough.  The  happy  couple  lived  at  Huntingdon, 
Surry  County,  and  there  died  ;  and  in  the  churchyard  which 
he  himself  gave  to  Southwark  Parish,  near  Huntingdon,  the 
tombstone  of  this  Benjamin  Harrison  may  be  seen  to-day. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  21 

To  Benjamin  and  Hannah  Churchill  Harrison  was  born  a 
son,  whom  they  also  named  Benjamin  —  the  third  of  the  name 
in  America.  This  son  married  a  daughter  of  Lewis  Burwell, 
of  Gloucester  County,  Virginia.  He  settled  at  Berkeley,  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  James  River,  in  Charles  City  County,  at 
a  point  about  twenty-five  miles  above  the  site  of  Jamestown, 
and  twenty-five  miles  below  Richmond.  Here  he  built  a 
typical  mansion  of  those  times,  which  became  known  from 
that  day  as  the  homestead  of  the  Harrisons. 

The  fourth  Benjamin  Harrison  was  a  son  of  this  gentleman. 
He  married  a  daughter  of  Robert  Carter,  of  Carotoman,  in  the 
northern  neck  of  Virginia.  From  this  time  on  the  name  of 
Harrison  is  included  in  the  Carter  family  list  —  the  list  of  one 
of  the  most  noted  families  of  the  Old  Dominion,  and  one  that 
has  added  much  to  her  honor. 

This  gentleman  lived  at  the  old  homestead  built  by  his 
father,  at  Berkeley.  One  day,  during  a  heavy  thunder-storm, 
he  was  standing  with  two  of  his  daughters  in  the  hall  of  the 
old  mansion,  when  a  stroke  of  lightning  ended  all  their  lives. 
He  left,  besides  his  widow,  several  sons,  two  of  whom  pre- 
served the  honor  of  the  old  family  name  in  public  capacity. 
His  son  Charles  was  a  general  of  artillery  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  did  efficient  service  in  the  cause  of  inde- 
pendence. Benjamin,  the  brother  of  Charles,  achieved 
greater  fame,  however,  and  became  the  historic  Harrison  of 
the  Revolution. 

Thus,  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  the  American  Revolution, 
was  descended  in  a  direct  line  from  Benjamin  Harrison^ 
cousin  of  Major-General    Thomas   Harrison,   of    the   English 


22  THE  LIFE  OF 

Revolution.  'JMie  simplest  record  that  can  be  made  of  his  life 
is  enough  to  give  him  high  rank  among  America's  most  famous 
heroes.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses, 
and  one  of  its  renowned  leaders ;  a  member  of  the  first  Colo- 
nial Congress  ;  the  reporter  of  the  Resolution  of  Independence  ; 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  president  of  the 
Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  from  1777  to  17S1  ;  thrice  elected 
governor  of  Virginia  ;  a  member  of  the  convention  that  ratified 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  ;  and  father  of  William 
Henry  Harrison. 

This  Benjamin  Harrison  married  a  ^liss  Bassett,  who  was  a 
sister  of  the  wife  of  Peyton  Randolph.  Before  he  was  twenty- 
one,  he  was  sent  to  the  House  of  Burgesses.  Here  he  was  so 
outspoken,  and  withal  so  sternly  true  in  his  patriotism,  and  so 
talented,  that,  spite  of  his  youth,  he  was  made  speaker  of  the 
House.  Afterwards  he  was  sent  to  the  "  rebel  Congress,"  and 
there  he  so  distinguished  himself  that  he  barely  escaped  the 
honor  of  being  made  president  of  the  Congress.  The  follow- 
ing story  is  told  of  the  circumstance  : 

When  his  brother-in-lav/,  Peyton  Randolph,  who  was 
president  of  the  Congress,  died,  Ben  Harrison  was  imme- 
diately thought  of  as  his  successor;  and  would  ha\e  l>een 
elected,  had  he  not  withdrawn  in  favor  of  John  Hancock,  of 
Massachusetts,  in  the  interest  of  harmony  between  the  Northern 
and  Southern  colonies.  He  himself  secured  the  unanimous 
election  of  Hancock,  who,  on  account  of  British  proscription 
for  his  faithfulness  to  the  colonial  cause,  rather  feared  to 
assume  so  lofty  ami  dangerous  a  post.  But  Ben  Harrison  — 
almost  a  giant  in  physical  proportions  and  strength  —  lifted  the 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  23 

hesitating  president-elect  from  the  floor,  carried  him  to  the 
official  chair,  and  placed  him  in  it,  giving  utterance  to  these 
characteristic  words,  which  showed  both  the  temper  of  the 
Congress  and  the  rugged  and  unfaltering  nature  of  Harrison's 
devotion  to  his  country  : 

"  We  will  show  Mother  Britain  how  little  we  care  for  her 
by  making  a  Massachusetts  man  our  president,  wliom  she  has 
excluded  from  pardon  by  public  proclamation." 

Harrison  was  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  the  Whole  that 
considered  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  on  the  loth 
of  June,  1776,  he  reported  the  resolution  for  Independence  to 
the  Congress.  On  the  4th  of  July  he  voted  for  it ;  and  one 
month  afterwards  it  received  his  signature,  between  those  of 
Thomas  Jefferson  and  Lewis  Morris.  While  that  noble  host 
of  patriots  was  engaged  in  that  act  which  meant  liberty  or 
death  to  them,  and  perhaps  to  all  who  were  dear  to  them,  not 
the  least  confident  of  the  success  of  the  liberty  side  was  "  Bluft' 
Ben  Harrison."  He  turned  to  Elbridge  Gerry,  and  in  a  jovial 
taunt,  that  expressed  his  utter  fearlessness  of  any  chance  of 
defeat,  he  said  :  "  Gerry,  when  we  shall  be  hung  for  high 
treason,  I  shall  die  quicker,  because  I  am  heavier." 

When  he  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress,  in  1777,  he  was 
again  elected  to  the  House  of  Burgesses  in  Virginia,  and  served 
there  as  speaker  until  near  17S2.  His  subsequent  career  is 
already  given  ;  but  in  1791,  after  he  had  been  elected  governor 
of  Virginia  the  third  time,  he  died  before  the  inauguration 
took  place. 

William  Henry  Harrison  was  born  at  Berkeley,  Charles  Citv 
County,  Virginia,  February  9,  1773,  just  one  year  before  the 


24  THE  LIFE  OF 

first  meeting  of  the  Continental  Congress.  He  was  therefore 
three  years  and  a  half  old  when  his  father  signed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence.  Z'  He  grew  up  on  the  plantation  at 
Berkele3^  ^^  ^'^^^^  the  best  instruction  a  good  mother  and  com- 
petent tutors  could  give  him  until  he  'entered  college.  But 
meanwhile  he  was  receiving  a  training  in  a  different  sort  of 
school.  The  War  of  the  Revolution  raged  all  around  him,  if  it 
did  not  at  first  come  within  range  of  his  vision.  In  1775  Nor- 
folk was  burned,  and  from  that  time  the  patriots  who  lived  at 
Berkeley  and  in  the  vicinity,  had  only  the  themes  of  patriotism 
on  their  tongues.  In  January,  1781,  the  traitor,  Benedict 
Arnold,  landed  with  his  marauding  forces  at  Westover,  but  a 
short  distance  from  Berkeley.  Then  British  and  Hessians  con- 
tinued to  arrive,  a  fleet  was  in  the  James,  and  the  forces  of 
Cornwallis  began  to  march  from  Carolina  up  toward  York- 
town,  to  the  nordieast  of  Berkeley.  But  it  was  not  long  until 
the  danger  to  the  plantations  was  over,  and  Cornwallis  had  sur- 
rendered to  Washington.  Then,  in  i  "jSt,,  the  war  was  declared 
at  an  end. 

The  father  of  \\'illiam  Henry  Harrison,  while  not  rich, 
yet  possessed  enough  means  b}'  which  to  manifest  great  liber- 
ality. But  tlie  Berkeley  homestead  could  not,  in  monev,  be 
valued  at  half  what  it  is  to-day  —  for  it  yet  stands  on  the  bank 
of  the  James,  a  typical  old  Virginia  home.  When  William 
Henry  had  been  sometime  in  his  "  teens,"  he  was  permitted  to 
enter  Hampton-Sidney  College,  for  which,  by  application 
under  his  tutors,  he  was  thoroughly  prepared. 

From  the  time  of  the  peace  of  1783,  hostilities  were  carried 
on  by  the  Indians  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  who  were  urged 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  25 

on  by  British  agents  and  traders.  There  were  yet  British 
posts  within  the  United  States,  and  these  exercised  great 
influence  upon  the  red  men.  Matters  grew  worse  as  the  years 
went  on.  It  is  said  that  from  1783  to  1791  fifteen  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  were  killed  or  captured  by  the 
Indians. 

Washington,  from  the  first  of  his  administration,  strove  to 
put  an  end  to  these  hostilities,  and  to  protect  the  frontier.  It 
was  the  influence  of  these  depredations,  and  of  the  spirit  of 
Washington,  his  father's  friend,  in  endeavoring  to  marshall 
forces  for  the  defense  of  the  frontier,  and  of  the  hostility  still 
manifested  by  British  power  through  the  Indians,  that  led 
William  Henry  Harrison  to  give  up  his  studies  for  the  medical 
profession,  which  he  had  been  pursuing,  and  determine  to 
enter  the  army.  It  was,  in  the  minds  of  most  of  his  friends,  a 
most  extraordinary  and  hazardous  decision.  He  had  always 
been  a  "book-worm."  His  appearance  was  effeminate.  He 
was  mild  in  manner,  and  unobtrusive.  The  resolution  was 
taken  about  the  time  of  his  father's  death,  and  the  great 
banker,  Robert  Morris,  was  his  guai'dian  —  for  he  was  but 
eighteen.  Mr.  Morris  was  so  opposed  to  the  plan  that  he 
consulted  Washington  about  it.  But  Washington  approved, 
and  the  result  was  that,  in  April,  1791,  William  Henry 
Harrison  received  a  commission  as  ensign  in  the  First  Regi- 
ment of  the  United  States  Artillery,  which  was  then  stationed 
at  Fort  Washington,  near  the  present  site  of  Cincinnati. 

The  event  proved  Washington's  estimate  of  the  lad  to  be 
correct.  His  garrison  life  was  a  good  military  discipline  for 
young  Harrison,  and  he  soon  so  won  the    confidence    of  his 


26  THE  LIFE  OF 

superior  officers,  that  he  was  intrusted  with  dangerous  and 
important  duties.  Then  came  the  disastrous  defeat  of  the 
army  of  St.  Chiir,  the  commander-in-chief.  More  than  five 
hun(h"ed  officers  and  privates  perished,  and  the  rest  fled  to  Fort 
Washington,  arriving  one  by  one  at  the  fort. 

"Mad  Anthony"  Wayne  superseded  St.  Clair  in'  command, 
and  being  a  man  of  great  shrewdness,  and  having  the  young 
ensign  under  his  vigilant  eye,  it  was  not  long  until  he 
demanded  his  promotion.  vSo,  in  1792,  Harrison  became  a 
lieutenant.  He  had  been  present  at  the  council  with  the 
chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  which  Wayne  held  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington, in  March,  of  that  year;  he  had  escorted  a  train  of 
pack  horses  to  Fort  Hamilton,  thirty  miles  up  the  Miami, 
through  a  most  dangerous  wilderness  ;  he  had  closely  studied 
the  training  and  instruction  under  which  General  Wayne  had 
been  placing  the  troops  since  he  had  assumed  commanil  ;  he 
had  been  a  close  observer  of  the  whole  method  of  Indian  war- 
fare, and  of  the  Indian  (juestions  which  then  agitated  the 
country  —  the  relation  of  the  15ritish  to  them,  and  so  on  —  and 
of  all  this  General  Wayne  was  aware  ;  and  hence  the  promo- 
tion of  tlie  youth. 

Young  Harrison  went,  on  December  23,  1794,  with  the 
detachment  sent  to  occupy  the  ground  of  St.  Clair's  defeat; 
and  assisted  in  burving  the  bones  of  the  slain,  in  recovering 
the  caimon,  and  in  building  Fort  Recovery.  In  the  thanks 
officially  given  for  that  important  W(jrk  he  was  mentioned  by 
name. 

He  took  part  in  the  great  battle  of  the  Mi:imi,  fought 
August  20,  1794,  in  which  the  Indians  were  routed  and  the 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  27 

British  influence  over  them  for  awhile  broken.  He  was  at 
this  time  both  lieutenant  and  aide-de-camp.  One  of  the 
results  of  this  victory  was  the  Treaty  of  Greenville,  January  i, 
1795,  by  which  the  Indians  released  much  of  the  Northwest 
Territory  forever.  Another  result  was  that  young  Lieutenant 
Harrison  was  promoted  to  a  captaincy,  and  placed  in  command 
of  Fort  Washington.  With  this  trust  were  also  given  others 
of  great  importance. 

During  the  year  1795,  while  in  command  at  the  fort, Captain 
Harrison  met  and  married  Miss  Anna  Tuthill  Symmes,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Cleves  Symmes.  Her  father  had  been  one  of  the 
prominent  patriots  of  the  Revolution.  He  had  moved  from  his 
birthplace,  Riverhead,  Long  Island,  to  Flat  Brook,  New  Jersey, 
in  1770,  was  made  a  colonel  of  a  regiment  in  1775,  and  did 
good  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  had  been  lieuten- 
ant-governor of  New  Jersey  ;  six  years  a  member  of  the  coun- 
cil ;  associate  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey  ;  a 
member  of  Congress,  and  one  of  the  supreme  judges  of  the 
"territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio."  In  17S7  he  bought  of 
Congress  1,000,000  acres  of  land  between  the  two  Miamis, 
which  became  known  on  the  maps  as  "Symmes'  Purchase." 
He  founded  the  town  of  North  Bend,  Ohio  ;  and  it  was  while 
on  a  visit  to  that  place,  fifteen  miles  from  Fort  Washington, 
that  William  Henry  Harrison  first  met  the  judge's  daughter. 
Mr.  Symmes  gave  his  consent  to  the  marriage,  but  withdrew 
it  on  hearing  slanderous  reports  against  young  Captain  Har- 
rison. But  he  managed  to  be  from  home  on  the  day  for 
which  the  wedding  was  set  —  November  39th  — as  if  in  igno- 
rance of  the  event,  and  on  returning  home  was  not  hard  to 
pacify. 


28  THE  LIFE  OF 

In  1798  the  young  captain  resigned  his  place  in  the  army, 
and  accepted  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory, under  Governor  St.  Clair.  In  1799,  the  territorial 
legislature  elected  him  a  delegate  to  Congress.  In  May,  1800, 
the  Territory  of  Indiana  was  created  by  act  of  Congress,  and 
Mr.  Harrison  was  appointed  its  first  governor. 

He  had  been  in  Congress  when  the  separation  of  what  is 
now  the  State  of  Ohio  had  been  made  from  the  Northwest 
Territory,  and  all  that  remained  had  been  christened  the 
Territory  of  Indiana.  It  included  all  the  land  west  of  the 
western  boundary  of  Ohio,  south  of  Lake  Superior,  north  of 
the  Ohio  River,  and  east  of  the  farthest  western  limits  of 
Louisiana.  Mr. Harrison's  commission  was  autocratic.  "He 
was  Indian  commissioner,  land  commissioner,  sole  legislator, 
and  law-giver."  He  was  commander  of  the  militia.  He 
appointed  all  civil  officers.  He  was  to  divide  the  lands  into 
counties  and  townships.  He  sat  in  judgment  upon  land  grant 
titles,  and  his  decision  was  final.  He  was  general  Indian 
agent,  made  all  treaties  and  negotiated  all  payments  in  connec- 
tions therewith.  If  there  had  been  any  doubt  as  to  his  in- 
tegrity, he  would  not  have  been  appointed.  If  he  had  in  any 
wise  ever  failed  to  conscientiously  fill  his  trusts,  he  would  not 
have  been  kept  in  the  position.  He  was  strictly  honorable  in 
all  his  transactions. 

He  held  this  post  until  181 2,  being  reappointed  by  Jeflerson 
and  Madison.  He  sought  to  improve  the  condition  of  the 
Indians  by  preventing  traffic  in  intoxicants,  introducing  inocu- 
lation for  small-pox,  and  by  other  means.  He  held  many  coun- 
cils with  them,  frequently  at  tlic  risk  of  his  life.      On  the  30th 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  2^ 

of  September,  1809,  he  concluded  a  treaty  with  several  tribes, 
by  which  3,000,000  acres  of  land  were  sold  to  the  United 
States. 

This  treaty  was  opposed  by  Tecumseh,  a  powerful  chief, 
and  his  brother  Ellskwatawa,  the  "prophet."  These  two 
brothers  were  Shavvnees,  ambitious,  the  uncompromising 
enemies  of  all  white  men,  and  noted,  even  when  young,  for 
savage  and  bloody  exploits  among  other  tribes,  or  among  the 
settlements  of  the  white  people.  They  were  no  doubt  flattered 
by  British  agents,  and  urged  on  by  promises  of  help.  They 
fancied  they  could  form  a  confederation  that  would  drive  the 
pale  faces  from  the  country.  The  union  was  to  include  all  the 
tribes  of  the  North,  and  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  Red  Stick 
Creeks,  and  Seminoles,  of  the  South.  The  treaty  of  Septem- 
ber was  their  pretext.  They  claimed  that  it  was  unlawful,  on 
the  ground  that  the  consent  of  all  the  tribes  was  necessary  to  a 
sale. 

The  governor  pursued  a  conciliatory  course.  He  invited  the 
two  to  a  council  at  Vincennes,  the  seat  of  his  territorial  govern- 
ment, requesting  them  to  bring  not  more  than  thirty  others  with 
them.  They  came  August  12,  1810,  with  400  armed  warriors. 
Two  days  were  spent  with  no  result — they  wanted  back  the 
land.  On  the  14th  Harrison  visited  the  Indian  camp  with  only 
an  interpreter,  but  with  no  success.  The  next  spring,  on  his 
threatening  to  punish  them  for  depredations,  they  professed 
friendship  and  granted  a  council,  to  which  they  brought  300 
followers.  The  presence  of  750  militia  prevented  any  out- 
break, and  secured  renewed  pledges. 

The  general  government  had  no  faith  in  Tecumseh's  prom- 


30  THE  LIFE  OF 

iscs,  and  ailvised  that  he  be  seized.  Harrison  had  no  faith  in 
him,  but  proposed  a  military  station  at  Tippecanoe,  the 
"prophet's  town,"  on  the  river  b\-  tliat  name,  \vhere,  it  was 
reported,  the  Indians  were  collecting  in  great  numbers.  Har- 
rison's counsel  prevailed,  and  over  one  thousand  regulars  and 
volunteers  set  out  with  him  from  Vincennes  on  September  26, 
iSii.  Tliey  rendezvoused  sixty  miles  north,  established  Fort 
Harrison  near  where  Terre  Haute  now  stands,  and  leaving  a 
garrison  there,  proceeded  on  their  way  October  28th.  They 
arrived  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of  the  village  November  6th. 
Here  they  were  met  by  messengers  from  tlie  "  prophet,"  de- 
manding a  parley.  It  was  granted  for  the  next  day,  and  Har- 
rison, having  first  led  his  men  to  an  eminence  commanding  a 
view  of  the  town  a  mile  away  on  a  hill,  went  into  camp  for 
the  night. 

The  camp  w\as  arranged  with  special  caution.  Harrison 
knew  the  treachery  of  his  foes  too  well  to  depend  upon  their 
professions  of  desire  for  treaty.  Every  soldier  was  commanded 
to  keep  his  accoutrements  on  him  and  his  arms  near  bv. 
Sentries  were  posted  with  most  vigilant  orders —  orders  hardly 
necessary,  for  they  knew  their  lives  depended  on  their  watch- 
fulness. And  all  night  the  soldiers  slept  lightly  and  were 
ready  for  a  moment's  warning. 

Shortly  before  4  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  Harrison 
was  sitting  by  his  camp  fire.  The  sentries  were  on  duty, 
careful  for  their  own  lives  and  those  of  their  comrades.  Sud- 
denly, one  of  them  saw  the  form  of  a  red  man  in  the  darkness 
near  him  in  the  grass,  and  fired.  The  report  rang  over  the 
camp.      Harrison   sprang  from   his  tent,  the  soldiers  were  on 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


31 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  GENERAL  HARRISON,    NORTH    BEND.  OHIO. 


their  feet,  their  commander  was  in  the  lead,  and  the  fight  was 
now  going  on.  The  roar  of  musketry,  the  yells  of  savages, 
the  groans  of  wounded  and  dying,  and  the  voice  of  the  com- 
mander were  all  mingled  together. 

It  was  difficult,  however,  to  fight  a  foe  who  fought  in 
irregular  ranks,  in  the  dark.  Many  of  the  brave  men  fell,  but 
those  who  remained  fought  on  until  daylight.  Then  a  cavalry 
charge  drove  the  Indians  from  the  field,  completely  routed. 
Thus  ended  the  famous  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  which  gained 
for  Mr.  Harrison  that  stirring  sobriquet.  It  virtually  ended 
the  Indian  hostility  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  with 
England.  Harrison  was  thanked  in  the  President's  message, 
and  bv  the  legislatures  of  Kentucky  and  Indiana. 


32  THE  LIFE  OF 

At  the  beginning  of  the  War  of  1812,  Mr.  Harrison  was 
appointed  brigadier-general,  and  assigned  to  the  command  of 
the  Northwest  frontier.  The  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  War 
appointing  him,  said  :  "  You  will  exercise  your  own  discretion, 
and  act  in  all  cases  according  to  your  own  judgment."  On 
March  2,  1S13,  he  was  commissioned  major-general.  October 
5th,  he  fouglit  and  won  the  famous  battle  of  the  Thames  against 
Colonel  Proctor,  in  Canada,  in  which  Tecumseh,  who  had  led 
his  warriors  as  British  allies,  was  killed,  the  warriors  scattered 
to  their  tribes,  and  the  Indian  power  and  presumptuous  claims 
broken  and  silenced  forever,  and  in  which  the  British  army 
was  completely  routed. 

Not  long  after  this,  the  Secretary  of  War,  Armstrong,  who 
through  jealously  had  hindered  Plarrison's  movements  in  every 
way  possible,  issued  an  order  to  one  of  the  inferior  officers  of 
the  western  army,  ignoring  the  commander  entirely.  Mr. 
Harrison  could  do  nothing  but  resign,  and  Armstrong,  in  the 
absence  of  President  Madison,  accepted  the  resignation.  Har- 
rison then  went  back  to  his  home  at  North  Bend,  Ohio. 

In  1816  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the  Cincinnati  dis- 
trict, and  was  in  Congress  three  years.  In  18 19,  he  was  elected 
to  the  Ohio  State  Senate,  and  remained  there  two  years.  He 
was  United  States  Senator  from  1824  to  1828.  Then  he  was 
appointed  minister  plenipotentiary  to  Colombia,  under  John 
Quincy  Adams,  where  he  remained  until  recalled  by  Jackson, 
and  he  then  returned  to  his  old  home  at  North  Bend.  He 
soon  after  became  clerk  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  his 
county,  and  filled  that  position  twelve  years.  In  1S36,  he  was 
candidate  for  President  of  the  United  States,  receiving  seventy- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  33 

three  electoral  votes.  In  1S40,  he  was  again  the  Whig  candi- 
date, and  received  234  electoral  votes  against  sixty  for  Martin 
Van  Buren. 

But  long  before  that  wonderful  campaign,  whose  memor}' 
stirs  the  old  Whig  blood  to  enthusiasm  yet,  the  birth  of  a  son, 
and  then  of  a  grandson,  made  possible  the  carrying  forward  of 
tlie  stern  and  true  Harrison  principles  and  patriotism  into  the 
midst  of  another  generation,  to  stir  it  up  to  enthusiastic  and 
patriotic  achievements,  such  as  characterized  the  campaign  of 
1840.  While  William  Henry  Harrison  lived  at  Vincennes, 
as  governor  of  the  Indiana  Territory,  his  son,  John  Scott  Har- 
rison, was  born.  The  house  where  he  was  born  still  stands, 
at  Vincennes ;  and  near  it  stand  the  trees  under  which  the 
governor  held  the  famous  conference  with  the  Indian  chief, 
Tecumseh.  In  the  same  house  was  planned  the  civil  govern- 
ment of  Indiana  ;  and  many  of  her  laws  and  customs  to-day 
reflect  those  first  influences. 

John  Scott  Harrison  grew  up  no  less  patriotic  than  his  father, 
but  with  somewhat  less  inclination  toward  public  life.  Never- 
theless, the  records  place  him  in  the  list  of  those  who  have 
served  their  country  in  a  public  way.  But  a  more  important 
record  than  that  comes  before  it ;  and  others,  also,  full  as  inter- 
estingf. 

John  Scott  Harrison  was  first  married  to  Miss  Johnson,  of 
Kentucky.  By  this  union,  there  were  two  daughters  and  one 
son,  William  Henry  Harrison.  The  son  died  ;  one  daughter 
lives  at  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  and  the  other  lives  yet  at  North  Bend, 
on  the  site  where  stood  the  home  of  her  grandfather.  Soon 
the  mother  followed  her  son  to  her  last  resting  place. 

3 


34  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

The  next  marriage  was  with  Miss  EUzabeth  Irwin,  daughter 
of  Captain  Archibald  Irwin,  of  Pennsylvania.  Her  father  was 
also  a  farmer,  and  owned  a  large  farm  near  Mercersburg, 
Franklin  County,  Pennsylvania.  Of  this  marriage  were  ten 
children,  four  of  whom  are  now  living  :  A  son,  Carter  Bassett 
Harrison,  lives  in  Murfreesboro',  Tennessee ;  another  son, 
John  Scott  Harrison,  lives  in  Kansas  City,  Missouri  ;  a 
daughter,  Mrs.  Anna  Morris,  lives  in  Indianapolis  ;  and  the 
remaining  child  living  is  Benjamin  Harrison.  . 

While  William  Henry  Harrison  was  at  Colombia,  his  son, 
John  Scott,  was  left  in  charge  of  the  estate  at  North  Bend. 
The  house  was  then  but  a  log  cabin,  for  though  quite  a  large 
tract  of  land  belonged  to  the  estate,  it  was  not  as  valuable  then 
as  land  farther  from  the  cities  and  towns  in  Indiana  and  Ohio 
is  now  ;  besides,  the  elder  Harrison  was  so  simple  in  his  tastes, 
and  such  a  man  of  the  people,  that  he  wouUl  not  dream  of 
making  an  effort  to  place  himself  socially  above  them  ;  nor 
was  he,  in  any  sense,  rich,  though  he  had  had  ample  oppor- 
tunities for  becoming  so,  had  not  his  great  liberality,  and  sensi- 
tive conscientiousness  in  the  matter  of  taking  pay  for  services, 
prevented.  Here  lived  the  family  of  John  Scott  Harrison 
for  several  years,  and  thus  it  came  about  that  Benjamin  Harri- 
son was  born  in  his  grandfather's  house,  at  North  Bend, 
Ohio. 


Chapter  II. 


BOYHOOD  OF  HARRISON. 

A     TYPICAL     AMERICAN     BOY  — TYPICAL    AMERICAN    PEOPLE  —  THE     BOY 
AT  HOME — CHARACTERISTICS  —  HIS  SURROUNDINGS  —  THE  FAMILY 

—  HIS  TUTORS  —  HIS  MANNER  OF  STUDY  AND  APPLICATION — THE 
LOG  CABIN  UNDERGOES  CHANGES  —  THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  184O  —  FIRST 
WHIG  VICTORY  —  HISTORY  OF  A  MOVEMENT  —  A  PEOPLE'S  CAMPAIGN 

—  SONGS,  BANNERS,  AND  BADGES  —  A  GREAT  DAY  AT  THE  HARRI- 
SONS*  DEATH    OF    THE    PRESIDENT IMPRESSIONS    ON     THE    BOY. 

Benjamin  Harrison  was  a  typical  American  boy,  and  des- 
tined to  be  a  typical  American  man.  This  was  true,  not  only 
in  respect  to  his  education,  but  in  respect  to  his  inheritance  ; 
not  only  in  respect  to  his  inherited  way  of  thinking,  but  in 
respect  to  the  blood  that  flowed  in  his  veins. 

He  was  born  and  brought  up  in  a  region  where  those  of 
such  blood  were  found.  The  North  Ohio  Valley  was  settled, 
to  a  large  extent,  by  those  who  came  froni  Kentucky,  Virginia, 
and  other  Southern  and  Southeastern  States.  Many  of  these 
settlers  w^ere  of  the  best  blood  which  those  regions  aflbrded. 
Many  of  them  were  young  men,  unmarried,  and  having  yet  to 
make  choice  of  life  companions.  Others  brought  wives  and 
children  from  the  South  ;  but  these  children  grew  up  to  look 
out  for  helps  meet  for  themselves.  Thus  was  formed  the  sub- 
strata of  North  Ohio  Valley  society. 

These  people  brought  the  conservative  customs  and  ways  ot 


36  THE  LIFE  OF 

thinking  that  had  belonged  to  established  society.  They  were 
American  in  their  ideas,  and  many  of  them  Whigs.  Many  of 
them  who  afterwards  became  inveterate  Democrats  were  influ- 
enced, not  by  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  two  parties,  but 
by  the  immediate  issues  between  the  new  Republican  party 
and  the  Democrats;  for,  in  the  days  w'hen  they  had  lived  in 
the  South,  slavery  was  not  a  party  issue.  Its  right  to  exist  had 
not,  in  that  manner,  been  called  in  question.  Then  they  had 
come  from  cleared  lands  and  hospitable  homes  and  friends 
and  loved  ones  in  the  South,  to  the  inhospitable  forests  of  the 
North,  to  toil  in  loneliness  often,  to  suffer  inconvenience  and 
hardship,  and  live  in  rough  log  cabins.  They  were  human, 
and  remembered  fondly  all  that  they  had  left  behind.  When 
the  new  issue  was  sprung,  it  seemed  as  if  their  old  homes  and 
dear  ones,  and  institutions  dear  by  association,  were  menaced. 
They  might  have  trusted  the  dear  old  Whig  party,  had  it  lived, 
and  had  it,  in  its  wisdom,  concluded  to  lay  its  hand,  in  the 
name  of  the  government,  upon  that  institution  ;  but  this  nexv 
party  —  what  did  tired  toilers  know*  about  its  principles,  in  the 
confusion  of  the  time?  They  only  knew  it  had  attacked  what 
they  had  never  thought  was  wrong,  and  what  was  dear  to 
them.  They  only  knew  the  issue.  Had  they  known  it,  the 
issue,  on  the  Republican  side,  was  based  on  piinciples  they  ar- 
dently believed  in —  Whig  principles  :  liberty,  the  kingship  of 
every  American  ;  protection  to  Americans  in  home,  society,  and 
labor.  They  saw  not  the  inevitable  logic  of  these  principles 
which  was  working  out,  else  they  would  have  followed  it  — 
would  have  been  willing  to  sacrifice  the  dear  idol  of  the  South 
for  them.     In  principle  they  were  Whigs  ;  in  issue  they  were 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  37 

Democrats.  Nevertheless,  there  were  many  others  who  saw 
the  point,  and  entered  the  Republican  party,  where  the  Whig 
principles  were  safely  conserved.  The  general  manner  of 
thinking  among  all  these  people  was  the  same. 

But  there  was  an  immigration  from  the  East :  people  true  as 
steel,  but  of  a  different  type  of  mind  from  the  first-comers,  not 
coming  as  they  had  from  the  shadow  of  a  great  curse,  nor 
holding  it  in  sacred  remembrance,  but  with  an  independence 
and  enterprise  impossible  under  conditions  of  slavery.  They 
spread  over  the  valley  and  plains.  Then  there  w^ere  mar- 
riages ;  and  many  a  young  man  from  the  South  found  a  wife 
from  the  North  and  East,  as  did  William  Henry  Harrison. 

The  subsequent  generations  are  typical  Americans.  With 
the  blood  of  the  South,  they  mingle  the  independent  manhood 
of  the  North  ;  with  the  fine,  serious  temper  of  the  South,  they 
join  the  irrepressible  spirit  of  the  North  that  will  scarcely  pause 
in  the  pursuit  to  resent  even  an  insult ;  with  the  conservative 
and  thoughtful  habit  of  the  South,  they  unite  the  enterprising 
and  habit-breaking  manners  of  the  North.  The  Northern  dis- 
position drives  them  over  the  face  of  the  land,  bends  everything 
to  their  service,  gives  them  the  best  the  earth  affords,  in  goods 
and  knowledge  :  the  Southern  compels  a  conscientious  pause 
before  every  undertaking,  a  seriou^  and  sacred  consideration  of 
every  issue  involved.  And  Benjamin  Harrison  was  a  boy  with 
such  blood  in  him  —  a  typical  American  boy. 

The  first  year  or  two  of  this  American  boy  was  spent  at  his 
grandfather's  house  ;  for  they  still  lived  there  after  his  grand- 
father had  returned  from  South  America.     But  his  father  had 


38  TPIE  LIFE  OF 

been  so  faithful  in  caring  for  the  estate,  and  his  grandfather 
was  so  well  pleased,  that  the  latter  gave  the  former  a  warranty 
deed  for  quite  a  large  farm  about  five  miles  from  North  Bend  ; 
and  thither  little  Benjamin  was  taken,  and  there  he  was 
brought  up. 

The  house  was  a  square  brick  house,  of  the  style  of  the  best 
houses  of  those  days.  It  was  somewhat  of  the  stvle  of  a  Ken- 
tucky or  Virginia  mansion.  Its  ample  rooms  and  cheerful 
portico,  and  spacious  porch,  gave  a  delightful,  home-like  echo 
to  the  tread  of  childish  feet. 

The  boy  was  not  sent  to  school.  In  the  first  place,  the  com- 
mon schools  were  not  then  the  progressive  educational  sj^stems 
of  to-day.  In  the  second  place,  the  Southern  custom  of  havino- 
governors  and  governesses  in  the  plantation  home  was  not  only 
held  in  reverence  for  its  association,  but  for  its  wisdom.  So 
tutors  were  employed  at  the  new  homestead  near  North  Bend. 

The  first  of  these  was  Miss  Harriet  Root,  a  niece  of  the  Rev, 
Horace  Bushnell,  of  Cincinnati.  She  was  employed  as  gov- 
erness in  the  family  of  John  Scott  Harrison,  perhaps  even 
before  the  removal  to  their  own  new  home  in  the  country.  She 
was  very  young  for  the  position,  but  was  earnest,  competent, 
and  thorough.  The  children  learned  to  love  her,  and  her 
interest  and  devotion  to  them  was  not  without  its  eflects  on 
their  after  lives. 

Thus  the  little  l)oy,  Benjamin,  was  fortunate  in  his  first 
teacher — a  most  important  fact  to  record.  He  was  a  chubby 
little  fellow,  square-shouldered  even  then,  and  he  had  a  head 
of  almost  white  hair.     He  was  studious  and  thoughtful,  but 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  39 

fond  of  play.  He  was  always  bright,  and  advanced  rapidly 
from  the  day  he  began  his  A  B  C's. 

The  next  teacher  was  a  Mr.  Joseph  Porter,  from  Massachu- 
setts, and  a  graduate  of  an  Eastern  college.  This  gentleman 
also  won  the  hearts  of  the  children,  and  he  remained  in  the 
family  for  a  long  time.  After  Mr.  Porter  came  Mr.  Skinner, 
a  graduate  of  Marshall  College,  Pennsylvania. 

But  the  home-school  was  not  wholly  unlike  the  early  com- 
mon schools  of  the  West,  as  to  its  methods  and  appointments. 
Nephews  and  nieces  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harrison  also  came  to 
receive  instruction  ;  and  it  was  necessary  to  have  a  school- 
room apart  from  the  residence.  This  was  a  cabin,  with  rough 
floor  and  benches.  At  playtime  the  children  were  full  of 
sport,  and  Ben  was  often  the  leader.  Then,  and  at  other  times, 
he  delighted  in  hunting  and  fishing. 

This,  however,  did  not  make  up  the  boy's  life.  In  those 
days  farmers,  for  many  reasons,  could  not  let  their  children 
be  idle,  and  some  of  them  were  compelled  to  require  of  them 
more  hard  toil  than  their  paternal  hearts  would  have  led  them 
to  require  had  it  not  been  for  "stern  necessity."  Ben  had  his 
share  of  carrying  water  and  wood,  of  feeding  the  horses,  cattle, 
hogs,  and  sheep,  and  not  infrequently,  when  night  came,  his 
limbs  were  tired  and  sore.  But  he  was  always  ready,  when 
morning  came,  for  whatever  duties  awaited  him.  He  never 
complained  of  his  lot,  nor  filled  his  mind  with  dreams  that 
made  his  life  and  its  duties  distasteful  to  him. 

So  the  boy  Ben  never,  in  earliest  years,  had  demoralizing 
influences  such  as  are  sometimes  thrown  around  children  on  the 
school-house  play-grounds.     He  had  constantly  the  influences 


40  THE  LIFE  OF 

of  a  pure  home,  a  devoted  father  and  mother,  and  the  associa- 
tion of  brotliers  and  sisters.  His  mother  was  a  faitliful  and 
devoted  Christian  woman,  and  always  kept  alive  the  influence 
of  religious  devotion  in  the  home.  Nor  was  she  uninterested 
in  general  themes,  nor  unacquainted  with  the  progress  her 
children  were  making  in  their  daily  studies.  She  sought  to 
provide  good  books,  and  she  loved  to  hear  her  children  read 
and  talk  about  their  studies,  as  she  sat  with  them  before  the 
wide  fire-place  of  an  evening.  From  his  mother  young  Har- 
rison learned  his  reverence  for  the  Christian  religion. 

Meanwhile,  as  the  years  went  on,  the  log  cabin  at  North 
Bend  underwent  a  change.  The  logs  were  hid  by  planed  and 
painted  boards,  and  two  wings  were  added,  so  that  a  stranger 
would  never  have  known  that  it  was  a  log  cabin.  It  stood 
not  far  from  the  river,  and  the  yard  reached  down  to  the  water's 
edge.  But  it  stood  on  ground  too  high  to  be  in  danger  from 
the  disastrous  floods  that  sometimes,  even  yet,  sweep  down  the 
valley,  carrying  low -ground  houses  with  them.  The  cabin 
was  rude  in  its  construction  —  iialt'-hewn  logs,  rough  floor,  an 
outside  wooden  chimney,  doors  swung  on  wooden  hinges, 
loose  boards  laid  across  rough  joists  for  a  loft  (it  coukl  not  be 
called  an  "  up-slairs,"  for  the  "  stairway"  was  a  common  lad- 
der), and  all  the  accompaniments  of  such  an  humble  log  hut. 
But  at  the  change,  the  roughness  disappeared,  and  the  cabin 
became  a  house  with  two  stories  and  more  pretentious  appear- 
ance. 

Nevertheless,  this  change  diil  not  prevent  the  glorification 
of  tlie  cabin  in  llie  approaching  great  campaign,  nor  the 
enthusiasm   it  raised   that   spread  over  all   tlic   countrv.     And 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  41 

the  centre  of  this  enthusiasm  was  at  North  Bend  ;  and  those 
in  the  log  cabin,  and  those  who  had  lived  in  it,  were  in  the 
midst  of  perhaps  the  greatest  political  excitement  that  ever 
shook  the  country  during  a  campaign ;  and  while  men, 
women,  and  children  came  about  with  songs  of  Harrison — of 
Tippecanoe — and  with  flags  and  banners  and  badges,  the  boy 
received  impressions  and  a  turn  of  thought  that  can  never  be 
effaced  or  changed. 

It  was  the  first  great  Whig  victory,  and  it  was  won  purely 
on  Whig  principles.  It  was  the  culmination  of  the  movement 
begun  as  far  back  as  the  close  of  the  war  of  181 2  —  the  deflec- 
tion, as  far  as  political  opinion  was  concerned,  from  the  ranks 
of  the  so-called  united  "  one  party"  of  its  best  elements,  when 
the  fundamental  principles  of  our  government  were  endan- 
gered. True,  that  growing  "movement"  had  been  unfortunate  in 
carrying  with  it  through  the  years,  discontented  foctions,  having 
local  interests  to  serve,  and  clinging  to  the  slender  but  growing 
stem  solely  for  the  policy  of  defeating  the  party  in  power,  with 
which,  but  for  local  schemes,  they  were  in  greater  sympathy. 

But  that  early  deflection  was  of  an  element  that  had  always 
been  true  to  American  principles,  and  ready  to  rally  for  their 
defense.  It  had  now  grown  to  gigantic  proportions,  in  spite 
of  incumbrances.  It  had  been  christened  "  National  Repub- 
lican" in  1S3S,  and  "Whig"  in  1834.  Whatever  the  political 
schemes  of  certain  political  leeches,  called  "leaders,"  in  1840, 
it  was  the  people  that  elected  William  Henry  Harrison,  and 
elected  him  as  their  ideal  leader  and  representative  in  pi'otec- 
tion  to  American  liberties. 

There  is  no  parallel  to  the  campaign  of  1840.     It  was  pre- 


42  THE  LIFE  OF 

eminently  a  people's  campaign.  It  was  the  beginning  of  those 
great  mass-meetings  that  have,  in  a  less  degree,  characterized 
all  campaigns  since.  There  never  was  as  much  singing ;  and 
all  the  watch-words  of  the  songs  and  shouts  were  freighted 
with  patriotic  meaning.  The  old  log  cabin  in  which  the  little 
hero,  who  stood  with  wondering  eyes  and  bre:ist  heaving  with 
early  patriotic  pride  and  feeling,  and  looked  on  the  grand 
commotion  around  him,  was  born,  was  made  the  war-cry. 
The  Democrats,  strong  in  their  old  organization,  feeling  aris- 
tocratic security,  had  been  foolish  enough  to  ridicule  the  candi- 
date who  lived  in  a  log  cabin,  and  who,  instead  of  having  fine, 
aristocratic  wines  on  his  board,  had  cider. 

The  campaign  was  the  yell  of  rage  at  the  insult,  and  the 
people  resolved  to  hurl  a  party  that  had  no  more  sympathy 
with  them  from  power.  So  it  became  known  throughout  the 
Union  that  the  candidate  for  President  on  the  Whig  ticket  had 
lived  in  a  log  cabin  ;  and  the  people,  by  the  campaign  and  by 
their  votes,  showed  that  in  American  eyes,  that  was  nothing 
against  him  —  that  the  humblest  might,  in  America,  rise  by 
effort  and  merit  even  to  be  President  of  the  United  States. 
The  campaign  became  known  in  history  as  the  "  Log  Cabin 
and  Hard  Cider  Campaign."  The  banners,  badges,  and 
medals  had  always  on  them  a  log  cabin,  and  by  it  a 
keg  of  cider.  Something  like  "William  H.  Harrison,  the 
People's  Choice,"  or,  "  We  Hold  the  Constitution  and 
Laws  Sacred,"  or,  "  Union  of  the  Whigs  for  the  Sake  of  the 
Union,"  or,  "  We  will  Take  Him  from  the  Plough,"  was 
printed  on  every  one  of  them,  and  these  mottoes  indicate  suf- 
ficiently wiial  the  people  had  in  mind. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  43 

One  of  the  characteristic  songs  of  the  time  was  entitled 
"When  My  Old  Hat  Was  New,"  and  the  two  stanzas  here 
given  show  the  real  feeling  of  the  people  on  some  points  : 

"  When  my  old  hat  was  new,  Van  Buren  was  a  Fed, 
An  enemy  to  every  man  who  labored  for  his  bread ; 
And  if  the  people  of  New  York  have  kept  their  records  true, 
He  voted  'gainst  the  poor  man's  rights,  when  my  old  hat  was  new. 

"When  my  old  hat  was  new,  the  friends  of  liberty 
Knew  well  the  merits  of  old  Tip  while  fighting  at  Maumee  : 
Come  now,  huzza  for  Harrison,  just  as  we  used  to  do 
When  first  we  heard  of  Proctor's  fall,  when  my  old  hat  was  new." 

The  following  is  the  first  verse  of  another  song,  and  it  is 
not  difficult,  as  one  reads  it,  to  catch  something  of  the  honest, 
patriotic  thrill  of  that  great  campaign  : 

"  The  people  are  coming  from  plain  and  from  mountain 

To  join  the  brave  band  of  the  honest  and  free. 
Like  the  stream  which  flows  down  from  the  leaf-sheltered  fountain, 

Grows  broad  and  more  broad  till  it  reaches  the  sea, 
No  force  can  restrain  it;  no  strength  can  detain  it, 

Whate'er  may  resist,  it  breaks  gallantly  through, 
And  born  by  its  motion,  like  a  ship  on  the  ocean, 

So  speeds  in  his  glory  old  Tippecanoe ! 
The  iron-hearted  soldier,  the  brave-hearted  soldier, 

The  gallant  old  soldier  of  Tippecanoe." 

The  following  breathes  the  same  spirit : 

"  Down  in  the  West,  the  fair  river  beside, 
That  waters  North  Bend  in  its  beauty  and  pride. 
And  shows  in  its  mirror  the  summer  sky  blue, 
O,  there  dwells  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe. 


44  THE  LIFE  OF 

Tlie  honest  old  fiirmer  of  'rippecanoe  ! 

The  gallant  old  soldier  of  Tippecanoe! 

With  an  arm  that  is  strong  and  a  heart  that  is  true, 

O,  there  dwells  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe." 

It  was  no  mere  enthusiasm  for  a  favorite  that  was  mani- 
fested in  these  sonp^s.  It  was  not  hard  to  see  that  the  favorite 
was  to  the  people  the  representativeof  principles  dear  to  them  ; 
that  they  considered  those  principles  their  salvation ;  that, 
therefore,  they  felt  themselves  threatened  with  some  disaster,  or 
imder  some  heavy  yoke  which  they  determined  to  shake  oft'. 
It  was  this  that  gave  the  sting  to  the  insult  of  the  sneer  at  the 
log  cabin  and  hard  cider.  Bourbonism,  proud,  aristocratic, 
caring  nothing  for  the  people  if  only  it  could  make  them  its 
servants,  had  shown  the  real  meaning  of  state-sovereignty  to 
be  the  lifting  up  of  states  into  so  many  petty  aristocracies,  and 
the  virtual  recognition  of  the  clan-system  —  the  class-system  — 
in  the  government  of  the  Nation.  When  it  had  destroyed  the 
United  States  Bank  because  it  suggested  a  national  idea,  and 
caused  the  establishment  of  "wild-cat  "  state  banks,  that  were 
so  many  unsecured  and  unlimited  independent  inflation-banks  ; 
when  it  reduced  the  tarill  by  a  method  recognizing  the  same 
petty  sovereign  desires  —  as  if  it  were  only  a  "local  issue"; 
when  it  left  internal  improvements,  as  well  as  protection,  to  the 
states  ;  and  when  this  Bourbonism  would  not  abate  this  policy 
of  holding  up  its  system  of  state-supremacy  at  the  expense  of 
the  welfare  of  the  people  in  these  matters,  then  the  people 
resolved  that  Bourbonism  should  rule  no  longer.  This  was 
the  key-note  of  the  enthusiasm  of  1S40. 

From  tliat  day  to  this,  Ben  Harrison  has  never  ceased  to  be 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  45 

the  friend  of  the  people.     It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the 
influence  of  such  times  upon  the  mind  of  the  boy. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  the  Harrison  households  when  the 
news  of  the  victory  came  to  them.  It  was  a  greater  day  when 
the  inauguration  came  ;  but  that  day  was  marred  by  one  sad 
feature  —  Grandmother  Harrison  could  not  go  to  Washington 
with  her  husband,  but  remained  in  the  cabin,  sick.  The  posi- 
tion of  mistress  of  the  Presidential  mansion  was  filled  by 
her  son's  wife,  the  aunt  of  the  boy  Ben,  and  sister  of  his 
mother.    John  Scott  and  William  Harrison  had  married  sisters. 

The  new  President  gathered  around  him  such  counsellors  as 
Daniel  Webster  and  Henry  Clay,  and  began  a  policy  that 
would  have  wrought  out  great  things  for  our  government  had 
he  not  been  cut  ofl'  in  one  month  from  the  beginning  of  his 
administration.  The  news  was  brought  to  North  Bend  that  he 
was  sick  with  a  fever  ;  and  then  the  sad  news  came  that  he  was 
dead.  His  body  was  placed  in  a  vault  at  Washington,  but 
was  subsequently  removed  to  North  Bend  and  placed  in  a  tomb 
overlooking  the  Ohio  River. 

Carrying  with  him  the  ineffaceable  impressions  of  the  past 
year,  the  boy  went  on  with  his  learning  ;  and  when  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  was  far  in  advance  of  most 
boys  of  his  age,  and  ready  to  try  new  experiences  for  the  sake 
of  higher  attainments. 


Chapter  III. 


THE  YOUNG  STUDENT. 

THE    BOY   GOES    FROM    HOME  —  THE    HOME     HE    LEFT  —  FARMER'S    COL- 
LEGE—  KEEPS     UP     HIS    REPUTATION HIS    TEACHERS RETURNS 

HOME  —  DEATH  OF  HIS  MOTHER  —  GOES  TO  MIAMI  UNIVERSITY  — 
TWO  YOUNG  FRIENDS  — JOINS  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  — 
PROFESSORS  AND  CLASSMATES — A  SUCCESSFUL  TWO  YEARS  — 
INCLINES  TOWARD  THE  LAW  —  ANOTHER  COLLEGE  IN  THE  TOWN 
—  A     ROMANTIC     EPISODE  —  HE     GRADUATES    WITH   HONORS. 

When  it  was  decided  that  young  Harrison  must  go  away  to 
school,  it  was  also  decided  that  he  must  go  to  a  school  as  near 
home  as  it  was  possible  to  find  a  good  one  ;  and  Farmer's  Col- 
lege, at  College  Hill,  Cincinnati,  was  the  school  chosen. 

He  was  perhaps  the  youngest  and  the  smallest  of  his  class, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  his  quiet,  grave  demeanor,  would  have 
looked  younger  than  he  was.  He  had  a  tow  head,  but  a  large 
one,  on  small  and  frail,  but  square  shoulders.  He  spent 
his  vacations  at  home,  and  as  far  as  his  habits  were  concerned, 
they  were  but  little  like  vacations.  He  was  seldom  satisfied 
unless  he  had  a  book  in  his  hand.  His  delight  was  to  lay  his 
head  in  a  favorite  sister's  lap,  and  while,  at  his  demand,  she  kept 
rubbing  his  temples,  he  would  be  absorbed  in  a  book. 

He  loved  to  come  back  to  his  home.  The  brick  walls,  the 
echoing  rooms,  the  porch  and  portico,  the  spacious  yard  with 
its  trees,  were  all  sacred  to  him,  as  were  also  the  horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  and  hogs,  and  the  farm.  He  liked  to  go  barefooted  as 
when  a  child,  and  to  assist  his  father  on  the  farm  in  feeding 


48  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  stock  at  night,  or  in  hauling  hay  with  a  chain  in  the  day- 
time. He  was  domestic  in  liis  tastes  then,  and  his  love  for 
home  and  its  environment  lias  ever  continued. 

Farmer's  College  was  not  all  its  name  might  imply  at  that 
time,  but  it  was  a  good  school,  and  the  young  student  found 
himself  under  excellent  instructors.  It  had  been  founded  by 
Dr.  Freeman  Carey,  brother  of  Samuel  Carey,  the  well-known 
temperance  orator,  and  had  been  called  Carey's  Academy. 
But  just  before  the  advent  of  young  Benjamin  Harrison  to 
College  Hill,  the  institution  was  changed  to  the  more  dignified 
grade  and  title  of  a  college.  One  of  the  professors  was  the 
celebrated  Scotch  educator.  Dr.  R.  H.  Bishop,  and  another 
was  Dr.  John  Witherspoon  Scott,  who  had  been  a  professor  in 
Miami  University  and  other  institutions  of  learning,  and  was 
an  educator  of  refinement  and  rare  experience. 

Ben  Harrison  was  a  studious  boy,  and  kept  up  with  the 
classes.  Among  his  classmates  were  several  who  have  since 
risen  to  jDrominence  as  lawyers,  physicians,  journalists,  or 
ministers  ;  and  the  names  of  Murat  Halstead  and  O.  \V.  Nixon 
do  not  detract  from  the  dignity  of  the  list.  He  kept  up  his 
re])utation,  which  he  had  won  under  his  tutors  at  home,  of  a 
boy  of  thorough  application  and  determination  to  master  every 
subject  that  came  before  his  mind,  and  to  accomplish  every 
duty.  He  studied  hard  and  long  at  his  tasks,  if  he  could  not 
perform  them  easily,  not  because  he  consideretl  them  as  tasks, 
but  because  of  his  real  interest  in  them. 

In  two  years  he  returned  from  the  college  with  a  better 
education  than  the  majority  of  people  obtain  during  their  whole 
lives.      He  was  now  sixteen  and  ambitious  for  knowledsfe  and 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  49 

success  in  life.  He  began  at  once  to  make  preparation  for 
college  in  the  fall  ;  but  a  sad  event  meanwhile  filled  him  with 
sorrow  and  beclouded  his  prospects  for  awhile  and  his  im- 
mediate interests  for  them.  This  was  the  death  of  his  mother. 
He  felt  that  he  had  lost  his  dearest  friend.  He  went  about 
sorrowfully  for  weeks,  and  when  he  entered  college  in  the  fall, 
the  cloud  had  not  left  his  heart. 

His  mother  had  been  a  faithful  and  devoted  member  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  by  her  piety  had  exercised  no  small 
influence  on  the  minds  of  all  her  children  ;  and  his  mind, 
through  his  love  for  her  and  his  love  for  her  kind  of  life,  was 
not  the  least  susceptible  to  her  influence.  She  had  prayed 
regularly,  and  this  habit,  even  when  Ben  was  a  child,  had 
caught  his  wondering  attention.  Her  presence  was  now  missed 
by  no  one  of  the  household  more  than  by  himself.  Her  death 
seemed  for  awhile  to  take  from  him  a  support  on  which  his 
life  depended. 

In  the  fall  he  went  to  Miami  University,  in  Oxford,  Ohio.  In 
that  day  it  was  a  long  distance  from  home,  but  now  it  would 
be  but  comparatively  a  short  ride  on  the  train.  Oxford  was  a 
beautiful  town  in  the  Miami  Valle}-,  and  was  the  seat  of  two 
institutions  of  learning,  Miami  University  and  Oxford  Female 
College.  The  Rev.  W.  C.  Anderson  was  then  president  of 
the  former,  and  the  Rev.  John  W.  Scott,  the  young  student's 
former  friend  and  professor  in  Farmer's  College,  was  president 
of  the  latter. 

Doctor  Scott  had  just   entered    on    his    duties    at    Oxford. 

Although  the  boy  was  but  sixteen  when  he  left  College  Hill, 

it  may  be  that  the  fact  that  Doctor  Scott  had  taken  his  family 

to  Oxford  had  something  to  do  with  turning  his  steps  thither, 

1 


50  THE  LIFE  OF 

for  the  doctor  had  a  daui^hter,  Carrie,  who  was  not  far  from 
young  Harrison's  age  ;  and  during  the  days  at  College  Hill,  a 
warm  and  earnest  friendship  had  sprung  up  between  the  two 
young  people. 

In  the  fall  of  1S50,  the  first  year  of  his  life  at  the  university, 
he  was  converted  and  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He 
was  as  sincere  in  the  step  as  was  possible  for  his  sincere  nature 
to  be.  All  his  early  life  had  had  a  tendency  to  give  him 
a  strong,  uncompromising  conscientiousness.  Besides,  the 
death  of  his  mother  increased  in  him  his  strong  desire  to  live 
a  Christian  life,  and  to  meet  her  again.  He  became  an  earnest 
and  faithful  worker  in  the  church,  though  with  his  retiring 
disposition,  inherited  largely  from  his  mother,  he  was  not  pre- 
sumptuous in  his  Christian  service. 

Here  is  a  trait  that  is  well  to  be  remembered  in  estimating 
his  after  life  —  his  Christian  conscientiousness,  coupled  with 
his  natural  disposition,  and  all  his  training.  A  young  man 
of  more  impulsive  temperament  might,  under  extraordinary 
excitement,  enter  just  as  earnestly  into  the  Christian  life,  but 
there  would  then  be  a  chance  of  his  falling  away  under  great 
temptation.  But  a  nature  as  steady,  serious,  and  conscientious 
as  Harrison's,  when  once  it  counts  the  cost  and  takes  such  a 
step,  cannot  be  imagined  to  turn  back.  The  meaning  of  this 
is,  that  he  was  conscious  of  the  connection  of  honor,  integrity, 
and  every  noble  virtue  with  the  profession  of  religion  and  could 
not  make  the  mistake  of  joining  unmindful  of  them,  and  that 
he  deliberately  accepted  their  obligation  for  life.  This  influ- 
ence and  continuation  of  purpose  may  be  safely  counted  on  in 
pointing  out  what  course  he  has  taken  in  his  subsequent  career, 
even  if  tlie  facts  were  not  known. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  51 

Among  his  college-mates  at  Miami  were  Oliver  P.  Morton, 
afterwards  the  renowned  war  governor  of  Indiana,  W.  P.  Fish- 
back,  a  subsequent  law  partner,  the  Rev.  James  Brooks,  and 
Professor  David  Swing.  All  these  bear  testimony  to  his  ap- 
plication and  proficiency  in  college.  Professor  Swing  says  that 
he  was  a  studious  scholar,  and  early  manifested  that  he  would 
succeed  in  whatever  he  might  undertake.  "  He  there  acquired 
the  habits  of  study  and  mental  discipline  which  have  charac- 
terized him  through  life,  enabling  him  to  grapple  any  subject 
on  short  notice,  to  concentrate  his  intellectual  forces,  and  give 
his  mental  energies  that  sort  of  direct  and  effective  operation 
that  indicates  the  trained  and  disciplined  mind."  But  his  mind 
seemed  to  take  naturally  to  this  discipline.  The  truth  is,  that 
his  past  habits  of  study,  his  ambition  and  his  zeal,-  prepared 
him  for  it. 

As  a  student  Harrison  kept  abreast  of  his  class.  Like  all 
students  he  excelled  in  some  studies,  while  his  average  in 
others  was  not  so  good.  Hj§  liked  history,  and  he  took  a  special 
interest  in  any  study  whenever  it  led  him  into  the  considera- 
tion of  questions  of  social  life  or  of  government.  He  liked 
political  economy,  and  was  one  of  the  best  students  in  that 
class.  He  was  interested  in  languages  and  English  literature, 
and,  next  to  the  studies  before  mentioned,  he  liked  them  best. 
But  he  was  not  a  mathematician  nor  a  scientist ;  though  in 
both  these  studies  he  did  well.  His  mind  was  the  mind  of  a 
lawyer ;  and  he  had  already  made  choice  of  that  profession, 
not  for  its  popularity,  nor  through  the  fancy  that  struck  him 
when  he  came  to  "  choose  a  profession,"  but  because  it  suited 
the  character  of  his  mind. 

He  had  also  the  qualities  of  oratorv  ;  that  is,  he  was  such  a 


52  THE  LIFE  OF 

master  of  his  thoughts  that  it  was  not  hard  to  express  them, 
and  he  had  such  interest  in  his  themes  that,  even  in  college,  he 
could  sometimes  rise  above  his  embarrassment  and  modesty 
and  control  himself  before  an  audience.  This  ability  mani- 
fested itself  in  a  greater  degree  in  after  years.  But  he  was  not 
bombastic  ;  he  spoke  calmly,  thoughtfully,  and  generally  with- 
out demonstration,  though  appropriate  and  even  forcible 
gestures  were  not  wanting,  if  in  demand  for  emphasis.  He 
chose  his  words  well,  and,  even  in  the  college  literary  society 
seldom  made  a  speech  that  did  not  excel  in  diction,  though  his 
adjectives,  as  a  student,  were  more  numerous  than  perhaps  was 
necessary  —  a  fault  in  which  he  did  not  excel  other  students. 
His  efforts  were  generally  extemporaneous.  He  had  also 
other  occasions  for  using  his  gift  while  in  college.  He  was 
resei"ved  and  modest  to  a  degree  that  interfered  with  the  devel- 
opment of  his  gift,  but  there  were  occasions  on  which  he  could 
not  keep  still.  It  is  said  that  once,  when  a  free-trade  advo- 
cate had  delivered  an  address  in  town,  and  had  grossly  mis- 
represented some  facts.  Student  Harrison  was  not  hard  to  per- 
suade to  reply  to  him.  He  was  a  protectionist  and  a  Wliig  ; 
and  from  his  fund  of  knowledge  of  the  issues  he  met  the  argu- 
ments of  the  man  and  overthrew  them. 

As  has  been  said,  there  was  another  college  in  the  town, 
over  which,  as  president,  was  Carrie  Scott's  father,  his  own 
former  professor.  In  attendance  at  that  college  were  bright 
and  intelligent  3'oung  ladies,  and  it  can  be  imagined  that  the 
social  features  of  Oxford  were  not  neglected  in  those  days. 
The  modesty  of  young  Harrison  did  not  prevent  his  full  enjoy- 
ment of  the  social  occasions,  nor  his  participation  in  them. 

One  of  the  brightest  and  most  intelligent  of  the  young  lady 
students  was  Carrie  Scott,  and  it  has  already  been  related  that 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  53 

her  friendship  with  Ben  Harrison  began  while  the  latter  was 
at  Farmer's  College.  Thus  the  closer  attachment  and  ultimate 
engagement  came  about  by  the  most  natural  train  of  circum- 
stances. Novelists  could  find  little  in  the  facts  for  the 
"basis  "of  a  sensational  romance,  and  yet  it  was  romantic. 
But  the  story  writers  who  make  interesting  the  realities  of  life 
because  they  are  interesting,  could  find  much  in  the  beautiful 
town,  the  natural  coincidences  and  circumstances  to  make  a 
charming  story  and  teach  beautiful  lessons. 

She  was  every  way  worthy  of  him,  though  her  talents  were 
not  just  the  same.  He  cared  more  for  forms  and  laws  ;  she 
for  art  and  literature.  She  was  cultivated,  having  passed  her 
young  life  among  the  educated  and  students.  Her  features,  of 
the  brunette  shade,  were  firm  but  pleasing,  winning,  and  beau- 
tiful. She  had  dark  brown  hair  and  dark  brown  eyes.  She 
had  the  faculty  of  making  every  one  easy  in  her  presence,  and 
glad  to  be  near  her  ;  and  so  the  pathway  of  the  rather  modest 
young  student  was  not  a  rough  one.  And  so  they  were  engaged. 

Another  two  years  were  spent,  and  the  graduating  day  in 
1852  came  around.  There  was  a  great  concourse  of  friends, 
and  there  were  speeches  from  the  graduates,  and  bouquets 
without  number  falling  in  showers  around  them.  Young  Har- 
rison's speech  was  on  the  subject,  "  The  Poor  in  England." 
What  is  unusual  with  students  who  choose  such  subjects  for 
graduation  display,  but  what  was  usual  for  him  in  any  speeches 
he  ever  made,  he  showed  that  he  thoroughly  understood  his 
subject.  He  showed  also  an  acquaintance  with  the  subject  of 
protection,  when  he  pointed  out  the  remedy  for  poverty  in 
England.  He  was  one  of  the  best- in  standing  and  merit  in  an 
unusually  good  class,  and  with  the  blessings  of  professors  and 
friends  resting  upon  him,  he  returned  home. 


Chapter  IV. 


THE  LAW  STUDENT. 

A  CHARACTERISTIC  RESOLUTION  —  A  NOTED  LAW  FIRM  —  FIRST  CON- 
TACT WITH  PUBLIC  MEN — A  REVIEW  OF  THE  POLITICAL  SITUA- 
TION—  HIS  HOME  WHILE  READING  LAW  —  HEART  TURNS  TO- 
WARD OXFORD —  THE  ROMANCE  ENDS  PROPITIOUSLY  —  A  HAPPY 
EVENT  —  LIVING  WITH  THE  OLD  FOLKS — AN  UNEXPECTED  IN- 
HERITANCE —  ANOTHER    CHARACTERISTIC    RESOLUTION. 

When  the  young  man  returned  home,  it  was  not  to  indulge 
the  boyish  sense  of  security  in  his  home  that  had  characterized 
him  up  to  the  time  of  his  leaving  at  the  age  of  fourteen.  His 
old  reverence  for  the  place  and  the  scenes  had,  indeed,  never 
left  him,  and  never  would.  But  the  shadow  of  the  future  was 
now  upon  him.  He  was  nearly  nineteen,  and  was  a  graduate, 
apparently  ready  for  life.  He  had,  moreover,  completed  a 
contract  that  is  always  full  of  serious  meaning,  and  lets  down 
an  invisible  barrier  between  the  past  and  present,  and  turns  the 
thoughts  with  a  feeling  of  inexorable  responsibility  to  the  future. 

His  mother  was  not  there.  His  sisters  were  grown  older. 
His  grandmother,  always  dear,  had  come  to  live  with  the 
family  ;  but  still  it  was  a  change.  The  old  place  did  not 
seem  as  it  had  in  his  earlier  boyhood.  His  father  had  not 
made  much  headway  against  financial  currents,  and  the  young 
man  felt  that  the  time  was  at  hand  when  he  ought  to  depend  no 
longer  upon  his  father.     True,  he  was  aware  that  he  had  been  a 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  55 

help  on  the  farm,  even  when  a  small  boy,  and  that  he  had  also 
the  right  of  inheritance  and  blood  relationship  to  the  care,  and 
even  anxiety,  of  those  at  home.  But  he  did  not  believe 
in  inherited  honors  ;  and  he  felt  that  to  claim,  or  to  accept, 
his  legal  or  family  rights,  under  the  circumstances,  would  be 
unmanly  ;  and  he  felt  that  honor  must  come  upon  merit.  Per- 
haps he  had  caught  the  spirit  of  1840,  which  rated  every  man 
a  king  who  sought  to  rise  by  the  merit  of  labor  and  character, 
and  every  man  a  slave  who  depended  upon  family  and  favorit- 
ism for  position  and  honor. 

In  obedience  to  these  feelings,  so  characteristic  of  his  subse- 
quent life,  and  no  doubt  to  that  other  feeling  described,  that 
looked  toward  a  new  home,  he  determined  to  go  right  on  and 
make  his  success  in  life  sure.  He  had  the  foundation  in  a  col- 
lege education  ;  he  needed  some  training  and  study  in  the  art 
of  rearing  a  special  structure.  To  this  end  he  began  at  once 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Storer  &  Gwynne  ;  and  his  pre- 
ceptor was  the  head  of  the  firm,  the  Honorable  Belamy  Storer. 
This  was  one  of  the  best  law  firms  in  Cincinnati,  and  here,  for 
the  first  time,  young  Harrison  had  the  advantage  of  contact,  in 
a  business  and  professional  way,  with  public  men.  He  had 
sat  under  the  teachings  of  excellent  masters,  who  possessed 
trained  and  powerful  intellects,  but  he  had  never  dealt  with 
them  nor  counselled  with  them  as  in  the  same  profession,  as 
in  some  degree  he  was  called  on  to  do  now.  A  law  student 
in  a  law  office  is  more  of  an  apprentice  than  a  literary  student 
in  college. 

This  was  a  great  help  to  him.     It  gave  him  a  practical  view 
of  his  profession,  and  a  practical  grasp  of  his  subjects.     It  gave 


56  THE  LIFE  OF 

him  that  confidence  in  his  own  ability  to  master  and  present  a 
subject  that  has  characterized  him,  and  to  which  his  success  has 
largely  been  due.  AInny  a  young  man  has  started  in  life  with 
good  talents  and  attainments,  but  with  no  courage  nor  tact 
before  men.  In  practice  they  lose  command  of  self  and  talents, 
and  tlieir  abilities  are  never  known  and  never  called  for. 
There  is  perhaps  no  profession  that  enables  a  man  to  become 
so  thoroughly  accpiainted  with  society  as  it  is,  and  with  the 
business  and  professional  methods  of  controlling  it,  as  that  of 
the  law. 

Ben  Harrison  was,  physically  and  mentally,  vigorous  and 
independent.  In  school  and  at  home  he  had  shown  a  tact  in 
solving  knotty  problems,  a  skill  in  diving  to  the  depths  of  his 
subjects.  On  taking  hold  of  a  problem,  he  had  the  confidence 
that  he  coidd  master  it.  In  the  law  office  he  learned  not  only 
to  master  for  himself,  but  in  the  presence  of  others.  He  could 
not  only  present  the  slate  with  the  "  sum"  worked  out,  or  the 
essay  or  oration  studied  and  written  in  his  room,  but  he  could 
work  among  thinkers  and  as  one  of  them,  and  bring  out  the 
result  while  he  talked  witli  them. 

While  in  this  association,  it  was  very  natural  that  his  interest 
should  be  awakened  in  politics;  for  of  all  men,  lawyers  are 
most  apt  to  aspire  to  become  political  leaders  ;  and  he  could 
not  be  in  the  oflice  long  without  licaring  tliesc  subjects  dis- 
cussed. It  is  a  tribute  to  his  power  of  mind,  his  independ- 
ence of  judgment,  and  to  his  patriotism,  that  he  kept  his  head 
and  heart  in  the  midst  of  the  political  confusion  and  wrangling 
of  that  day. 

It  was  now  twelve  years  since  the  first  campaign   he  could 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  57 

remember  —  that  of  his  grandfather.  Affairs  had  not  gone 
well  with  the  Whigs  as  a  party  ;  but  their  original  principles 
were  taking  more  and  more  a  firm  hold  upon  the  popular 
mind.  The  first  formal  declai'ation  of  their  principles  in  con- 
vention was  in  1S44  '  ^^^^  ^^^'^^  ^^^  only  the  echo  of  the  preach- 
ing and  teaching,  and  popular  demand  of  1840.  It  is  not 
necessary,  in  order  for  a  party  to  be  a  party  based  on  clearly 
defined  principles,  for  a  few  men  to  come  together  and  announce 
what  they  believe.  When  these  few  men  have  means  of  know- 
ing what  the  people  want,  having  taught  them  from  their  own 
honest  convictions,  or  having  heard  them  in  some  definite 
demand  and  found  themselves  in  honest  sympathy  with  them, 
then  they  may  construct  a  platform  of  the  party  of  the 
■people  formally  in  convention.  The  campaign  of  1840  had 
been  definite  enough,  and  the  platform  of  1844  was  its  echo. 

"  A  well-regulated  currency;  a  tarift' for  revenue  to  defray 
the  necessary  expenses  of  the  government,  and  discriininatiiig 
with  special  reference  to  the  protection  of  the  domestic  labor 
of  the  country ;  the  distribution  of  proceeds  from  the  sale  of" 
public  lands  ;  a  single  term  for  the  presidency  ;  a  reform  of 
executive  usurpations ;  and  generally  such  an  administration 
of  the  affairs  of  the  country  as  shall  impart  to  every  branch  of 
public  service  the  greatest  practical  efficiency,  controlled  by 
well-regulated  and  wise  economy."  These  were  the  issues  of 
1844,  expressed  in  convention  at  Baltimore  on  May  ist,  of 
that  year ;  and  underneath  them  is  the  recognition  of  a  peo- 
ple's government^  protection  of  the  people's  interests,  people's 
financial  safety  :   in  short,  American  principles. 

But  the   result  was  not  the  same  as  in  1840.     An  abolition 


58  THE  LIFE  OF 

candidate,  voted  for  in  New  York  and  Michigan,  took  the 
electoral  votes  of  those  States  from  Clay  and  gave  them  to 
Polk.  These  alone  added  to  Clay's  105,  and  taken  from 
Polk's  170,  would  have  elected  Clay.  But  that  movement 
was  honest;  and,  compared  w^ith  others,  but  for  which  Clay 
might  have  been  elected  anyhow,  it  was  wise.  The  Democrats 
in  some  states  advocated  free  trade,  and  in  some  protection 
—  a  characteristic  policy,  as  the  present  generation  knows. 
Again,  there  were  1,000  fraudulent  votes  cast  in  one  parish  in 
Louisiana,  which  gave  Polk  a  majority  in  that  State  of  only 
699.  Again,  in  New  York,  there  was  a  large  amount  of 
fraudulent  naturalizing  for  voting  purposes  on  the  part  of  the 
Democrats.  And  again,  even  while  Calhoun  had  formerly 
been  professing  to  be  a  Whig,  he  had  been  working  to 
sometime  spring  the  question  of  slavery  by  the  question  of 
the  annexation  of  Texas.  It  was  this  that  caused  the  abolition 
movement  in  the  North  ;  it  was  this  that  appealed  to  South- 
ern prejudice  rather  than  to  Southern  principle,  and  lost  Clay 
the  majority  of  the  Southern  votes. 

The  majority  of  the  people,  North  and  South,  liad  really 
Whig  convictions  ;  but  the  Machiavelian  policy  of  springing 
an  issue  ivholly  on  sectional  prejudice^  drew  them  away. 
Had  the  slave  question  come  up  in  its  own  good  time,  by  way 
of  the  natural  growth  of  Amcricani'Sni  away  from  the  class- 
ideas  of  the  old  world,  allowing  a  chance  for  its  discussion 
while  the  fires  of  patriotism  burned,  there  might  have  been  a 
diflerent  termination  of  that  question,  so  far  as  the  enormity 
of  the  struggle  was  concerned. 

The  people  of  the  South,  and  many  of  like  opinions   in    the 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  59 

North,  were  more  sincere  on  the  slavery  question  than  Calhoun 
and  his  associates,  who  seemed  to  raise  the  question  for  political 
effect.  The  Mexican  War  had  as  its  real  incentive  among  the 
leaders  at  first,  the  extension  of  slavery  and  the  overshadowing 
by  the  slave  power  of  free  state  influence  by  the  addition  of 
new  territory.  But  among  the  people  who  enlisted,  the 
declaration  of  Congress,  secured  by  Democrats,  that  the  war 
was  already  begun  "by  the  act  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,"  had 
stirred  a  deeper  patriotism.  It  was  this  patriotism  among 
Southern  Whigs,  and  the  prejudice  on  the  slavery  question 
among  them  and  many  Northerners,  stirred  up  by  Calhoun  and 
others,  that  put  the  Northern  Whigs  in  Congress  between 
two  fires. 

The  Mexican  battles  were  fought  and  won,  and  new  glory 
was  added  to  the  American  arms.  The  bill  in  Congress,  in 
1S46,  to  make  an  appropriation  to  negotiate  a  peace  with 
Mexico,  had  called  out  the  famous  amendment  by  David 
Wilmot,  "that  there  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary 
servitude  in  any  territory  on  the  Continent  of  America,  which 
shall  hereafter  be  acquired  by,  or  annexed  to,  the  United 
States  by  virtue  of  this  appropriation,  or  in  any  other  manner 
whatever  except  for  crime."  The  amendment  had  failed,  but 
had  produced  its  wonderful  eftect,  and  had  gone  into  history 
as  the  "  Wilmot  Proviso."  The  slavery  question  had  been 
dividing  both  parties  ;  the  note  of  secession  had  been  sounded 
in  the  South,  the  note  of  hasty  resistance  in  the  North.  Di- 
visions were  made  on  the  issues,  not  on  the  principles  of  the 
pai'ties.  Whigs  at  heart  had  rallied  to  Democratic  ranks  ;  and 
Whigs  at  heart,  impatient  of  delay,  had   formed  the  Free  Soil 


6o  THE  LIFE  OF 

party.  Seceders  also  from  the  Democratic  ranks  had  joined 
the  Free  Soil  movement,  and  the  Buffalo  Convention  of  1848 
had  been  held  by  the  new  party.  Notwithstanding  the  dis- 
ruptions, Taylor  had  led  the  hosts  in  1848,  and  had  been 
made  President  of  the  United  States.  He  had  died  in  office, 
and  Fillmore,  the  milder  Whig,  had  guided  the  administration 
through  a  period  of  apparent  calm. 

But  the  mutterings  of  the  storm  were  in  the  South  and  in 
Kansas.  Another  campaign  was  on.  The  Free  Soilers  had 
nominated  Hale  and  Julian  ;  the  Whigs,  General  Scott  and 
William  A.  Graham  ;  and  the  Democrats,  Pierce  and  King. 
Such  was  the  political  situation  when  Ben  Harrison  began  to 
study  law.  He  could  not  help  being  interested  in  the  outcome 
of  the  canvass.  He  was  a  Whig,  believing  the  time  not  yet  for 
the  settling  of  the  slave  question;  believing  that  the  extension 
of  slavery  should  indeed  be  prohibited  (as,  not  believing  in 
slavery  at  all  as  a  moral  institution,  he  with  others  believed 
it  to  be  constitutional  to  prevent  its  extension,  but  that  its  over- 
throw where  it  did  exist  would  be  violence  uncalled  for  while 
opinions  of  great  and  good  men  on  the  constitutional  right 
diflered)  ;  and  believing  that  strict  American  principles  should 
be  always  at  the  front  as  issues,  while  other  important  issues 
should  rise  in  their  natural  order  and  be  discussed  from  the 
stand-point  of  those  principles. 

He  had  had  his  convictions  from  his  boyhood.  His  natural 
indignation  in  1S44,  when  unlaxvful  naturalization  in  New 
York  had  carried  that  State  to  the  Democrats,  was  expressed 
emphatically  then  and  afterwards,  although  he  was  at  that 
time  but  eleven  vears  old  ;  but  he  never  opposed,  even  then, 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  6i 

lawful  naturalization.  More  than  other  boys,  he  had  the  spirit 
of  1840,  that  allowed  every  citizen  a  right  to  express  his  opinion 
in  a  vote,  w^hether  natural  or  foreign  born.  And  this  belief 
characterized  him  all  his  youth  and  manhood.  Up  to  1852,  he 
w^as  a  Whig  in  every  sense  of  the  w^ord.  And  now,  naturally, 
being  in  the  midst  of  politicians  in  the  office,  he  was  more 
interested  than  ever  —  and  more  of  a  Whig. 

The  result  of  the  campaign  of  1852,  as  might  have  been  fore- 
seen, was  that  Pierce  was  elected  by  a  large  majority,  and 
"fire  eaters"  and  other  foes  to  the  country  came  again  to  the 
front. 

While  he  studied  law,  he  walked  back  and  forth  between  his 
sister's  house,  in  North  Bend,  and  the  office.  This  was  to  save 
the  expense  of  board,  for  meanwhile  the  family  purse  grew  no 
heavier. 

The  heart  of  the  young  law  student  had  never  for  a  moment 
ceased  its  loyalty  to  its  queen  at  Oxford,  and  in  October,  1853, 
he  went  to  fulfil  the  marriage  contract.  This,  to  the  young 
couple  was  far  more  than  a  legal  transaction.  It  was  the  leav- 
ing parents  for  each  other,  and  becoming,  in  heart  and  mind 
and  life,  as  well  as  in  legal  relation,  "  one  flesh"  ;  it  was  the 
founding  on  a  holy  and  sanctified  and  divine  basis,  a  home,  a 
family.  Both  of  them  believed  implicitly  in  the  sacredness  of 
the  marriage  tie. 

Both  of  them,  as  soon  as  the  engagement  had  been  made, 
had  felt  a  change  of  attitude,  as  it  were,  of  their  affections. 
They  loved  the  old  homes  and  dear  ones  no  less,  but  they  loved 
each  other  more,  and  felt  they  were  soon  to  enter  a  society 


62  THE  LIFE  OF 

established  and  hallowed  by  Jehovah — a  society  with  bonds 
irrevocable. 

Miss  Carrie  L.  Scott  was  just  the  woman  to  glorify  a  rela- 
tionship like  that,  and  to  make  ready  her  heart,  and  purpose, 
and  life,  beforehand,  to  carry  out  sacredly  the  solemn  pledge. 
Reared  in  a  family  of  rich  cultivation  and  of  conscience,  she 
was  ready  with  such  instincts  to  make  such  a  home.  Her 
father  had  long  been  a  professor,  and  had  made  his  house  the 
the  welcome  place  for  the  refined  and  educated.  In  his  own 
life  he  always,  at  home  and  abroad,  manifested  the  traits  of  a 
well-educated  gentleman.  His  cultivation  was  not  mere  culti- 
vation, but  was  the  development  of  rare  natural  powers  and 
their  training  by  a  long  experience.  He  was  as  gentle  as  a 
child,  and  as  graceful.  And  Carrie's  mother  was  no  less  of 
the  noble  and  refined  type. 

Carrie's  was  a  religious  home,  full  of  the  graces  and  sweet 
influences  that  religion  can  bring  around  the  hearthstone. 
Her  sparkling  and  half-roguish  and  captivating  brown  eyes 
were  not  those  of  the  careless-hearted  maiden,  and  betrayed 
no  feeling  or  instinct  of  the  coquette,  but  spoke  rather  the 
deeper  and  more  earnest  joy  of  a  deeper  nature.  She  was 
every  way  charming  :  her  shapely  form,  her  shapely  hands  with 
neat,  tapering  fingers,  her  regular  features,  all  making  her  a 
beaut}' ;  and  above  all,  the  intelligent  and  captivating  expres- 
sions of  her  countenance  were  winning  qualities.  She  was 
the  charm  of  her  circle,  and  her  grace  and  manner  made  her 
the  idol  of  her  lady  acquaintances.  Withal,  she  was  sericus 
and  intensely  religious. 

During  the  winter  of  1S53-4,  the  happy  couple  lived  at  the 
home  near  North    Bend,  preparing  meanwhile  to  begin  life's 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


63 


battle  alone  in  the  spring.  When  spring  came,  it  was  all 
arranged  that  the  young  lawyer  should  take  his  bride  and  settle 
in  Indianapolis.  He  was  also  the  better  enabled  to  run  this 
risk  by  receiving  a  bequest  about  that  time  of  $800.  An  aunt, 
Mrs.  Findly,  died  and  left  him  that  amount.  Nevertheless,  it 
required  no  small  courage  to  face  the  uncertainties  of  an  en- 
tirely strange  locality  with  but  eight  hundred  dollars  and  an 
untried  profession,  and  a  wife  depending  upon  him.  But  the 
resolution  was  characteristic  of  him  :  he  wanted  to  be  inde- 
pendent, to  go  where  he  would  be  compelled  to  work  ;  above 
all,  he  wanted  to  rise  by  his  own  merits,  and  not  by  the  name 
of  his  gfi'andfather. 


^-iSff,  '^ 


MRS.  BENJAMIN   HARRISON, 

WIFE  OF  GENERAL  HARRISON. 


Chapter  V. 


THE  YOUNG  LAWYER. 

JOURNEY  TO    LAWRENXEBURG  THENCE    TO    INDIANAPOLIS THE  CITY 

AT  THAT  TIME  —  A  HUMBLE  COTTAGE HE  PUTS  OUT  HIS  "  SHIN- 
GLE"—  POOR  PROMISE  OF  SUCCESS  —  DAYS  SPENT  IN  ABSTRACT 
OFFICE  —  OFFICE  OF  JOHN  H.  REA,  CLERK  OF  DISTRICT  COURT  OF 
UNITED  STATES A  PROVIDENTIAL  OPPORTUNITY POINT  LOOK- 
OUT BURGLARY    CASE  —  PARTNERSHIP    WITH  WILLIAM  WALLACE 

ANOTHER  CASE  BRINGS  HONOR — PARTNERSHIP  WITH  W.  P.  FISH- 
BACK. 

The  journey  of  the  young  couple  to  Lawrenceburg  must  be 
made  in  wagons.  It  was  about  fourteen  miles  distant,  and  there 
was  no  railroad  to  that  point.  They  carried  with  them  boxes  of 
provisions,  some  bedding,  and  a  few  other  necessities  of  home 
life.  From  Lawrenceburg  they  sent  the  wagon  back,  and  took 
the  train  to  Indianapolis.  They  had  no  express  trains  and  steel 
rails  on  the  road  then.  The  road  was  rough,  the  seats  were 
uncomfortable  —  at  least  modern  travelers  would  consider 
them  so.     But  at  last  they  arrived  in  the  capital  of  Indiana. 

Indianapolis  gave  no  promise  then  of  its  present  magnifi- 
cence, though  it  was  a  growing  little  town.  Most  of  the 
houses  were  near  the  east  bank  of  the  White  River ;  but  that 
quarter  was  not  destined  to  become  the  centre  of  the  cit}',  for 
business  soon  left  it,  and  it  is  to-day  comparatively  a  deserted 
quarter. 
5 


66  THE  LIFE  OF 

The  first  thing  necessary,  on  arriving  at  the  new  capital, 
was  to  find  a  phice  to  stay.  So  the  young  husband  secured  board 
for  himself  and  wife,  at  what  was  known  as  the  Roll  House, 
until  they  could  find  a  home.  Meanwhile  he  "kept  a  look-out" 
for  a  house  with  rent  within  his  probable  ability  to  pay.  This 
was  the  usual  way  of  expressing  it ;  but,  in  truth,  Benjamin 
Harrison  never  had  a  doubt  as  to  his  success,  although  he  really 
under-rated  his  own  abilities  when  he  sat  in  judgment  on  them. 
He  knew  that  he  should  not  fail,  because  he  knew  he  was  going 
to  work,  and  he  had  confidence  in  perseverance  ;  while  he  knew 
that,  however  few  talents  he  might  have,  others  who  had 
fewer  had  succeeded. 

At  last  a  small  house  was  found,  on  the  corner  of  North  and 
Alabama  streets  —  in  the  eastern  suburbs  of  the  city  as  it  was 
then,  but  in  the  heart  of  the  present  city  of  Indianapolis.  The 
house  had  a  gable  front  in  which  was  a  windov/  and  a  door. 
It  was  a  low,  one-story  building ;  but  it  had  an  air  of  cosiness 
and  home-likeness,  in  spite  of  its  humbleness.  A  large  shade- 
tree  stood  just  by  the  walk  before  the  door,  adding  its  attractive- 
ness to  the  scene.  On  entering,  they  found  thut  the  house 
contained  but  three  rooms  ;  but  that  was  quite  sufiicient  for 
their  wants  and  comfort,  and  it  was  hired  at  $6.00  a  month  : 
and  this  was  their  first  Indianapolis  home. 

Here  was  the  first  realization  of  home  —  the  dream  of  their 
young  lives.  So  happy  were  they  in  it  that  it  mattered  not 
to  them  that  the  cottage  was  humble,  and  that  there  were  but 
three  rooms.  Here  gathered  the  associations  of  early  married 
life.  The  house  stands  yet,  as  it  used  to  stand  ;  and  the  pres- 
ent General  Benjamin  Harrison  and  his  estimable  wife  cannot 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  6>j 

look  upon  it  without  a  throng  of  delicious  memories  rising 
before  them.  Here  they  began  life  in  humblest  manner  ;  but 
somehow  there  is  even  a  halo  about  that  as  it  is  recalled  by 
them.  The  sickness,  the  trial,  and  the  suffering  are  either 
forgotten,  or  hallowed  by  association  with  the  good  that  arose 
out  of  them.  Here  the  first  child  was  born  ;  and  the  wife 
was  no  longer  so  lonely  w^hile  her  husband  was  absent  about 
the  task  of  finding  paying  cases. 

He  was  fair-haired  and  boyish  —  appearing  younger  than  he 
was.  There  was  not  that  maturity  in  his  looks  and  expres- 
sion that  won,  at  a  glance,  the  confidence  of  those  seeking 
lawyers  to  befriend  them  in  court.  He  had  not  that  self- 
assertion  that  is  a  positive  necessity  in  getting  along  with  some 
classes.  His  slender  form,  and  stature  below  the  average, 
were  not  apt  to  impress  one. 

Hence,  his  first  year  at  Indianapolis  was  not  one  of  brilliant 
success.  He  spent,  during  that  time,  many  hours  in  abstract 
offices,  hunting  up  titles,  and  getting  small  pay  for  his  pains 
—  his  highest  fee  being  five  dollars.  He  secured,  through 
John  L.  Robinson,  the  position  of  court-crier,  at  $3.50  a  day, 
but  court  was  not  in  session  long  enough  in  the  year  to  add 
much  to  his  slender  purse. 

Before  he  had  received  a  fee  in  this  or  any  other  man- 
ner, he  was  standing  one  day  on  the  sidewalk  just  before  his 
door,  and  under  the  tree.  It  was  the  first  Sunday  after  they 
had  gone  to  house-keeping.  He  was  looking  up  at  the  cottage 
and  thinking  with  some  pride  of  it,  as  his  home  ;  there  is  no 
purer  or  more  comforting  pride  a  man  has  in  life  than  in  the 
contemplation  of  his  first  home  after  marriage.      While  he  was 


68  THE  LIFE  OF 

thus  contentedly  engaged,  a  horseman  came  dashing  up  the 
street,  and  stopped  before  the  door.  Mr.  Harrison  turned  to 
know  the  errand  of  this  breaker  of  his  reverie. 

The  man  liad  come  from  Clermont,  a  small  village  eight 
miles  west  of  there,  to  find  a  lawyer  to  prosecute,  before  a 
justice  of  the  peace,  a  man  who  had  been  arrested  on  a  charge 
of  obtaining  money  under  false  pretenses.  Would  Mr.  Har- 
rison go  down  and  prosecute?  Mr.  Harrison  agreed  that  he 
would  go.  Then  the  man  dropped  a  five-dollar  gold-piece 
into  the  young  lawyer's  hand,  gave  directions  about  reaching 
Clermont  and  the  hour  for  trial,  and  left. 

Five  dollars  I  That  was  a  god-send,  indeed  !  But  part  of 
that  must  be  paid  for  some  means  of  going,  for  he  could  not 
walk.  It  would  not  do  to  hire  a  horse  and  buggy  —  that 
would  take  too  much  from  the  welcome  fee.  So  the  next 
morning,  he  hired  a  pony  at  a  stable,  and  when  the  hour  for 
starting  came,  set  off  to  win  his  first  laurels  in  legal  contest. 
And  he  won  them. 

He  demonstrated,  in  that  successful  suit,  as  he  subsequenth 
did  in  every  case  with  which  he  had  to  do,  that,  in  spite  of 
disadvantages  of  poverty  and  youth,  he  was  cut  out  for  a  law- 
yer. However,  as  it  generally  requires  a  lawyer  of  some 
greatness  and  established  fame  to  recognize  the  abilities  of  the 
rising  young  lawyer,  and  as  men  of  that  class  were  not  apt  to 
be  pleading  cases  before  a  country  justice,  Benjamin  Harrison 
must  wait  for  recognition  until  some  fiiture  day.  He  entered 
the  office  of  John  H.  Rea,  Clerk  of  the  District  Court  of  the 
United  States.  He  had  little  success  until  a  rather  fortunate 
incident  occurred. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  69 

The  famous  "  Point  Lookout"  burglary  case  was  before  the 
court,  with  Governor  David  Wallace  on  one  side,  and  Major 
Jonathan  W.  Gordon,  the  prosecuting  attorney,  on  the  other. 
Major  Gordon  was  a  man  of  great  ability,  and  had  formed  a 
high  estimate  of  the  real  abilities  of  young  Harrison.  Governor 
Wallace  was  assisted  in  the  defense  by  Sims  Colley. 

The  closing  appeal  to  the  jury,  it  was  found,  would  not 
come  until  the  evening  of  the  closing  day,  and  Major  Gordon 
found  himself  confronted  by  duties  in  two  places  at  the  same 
hour.  He  desired  to  attend  a  lecture  by  Horace  Mann  in 
the  evening,  and  it  was  necessary  to  find  some  one  to  fill  his 
place  before  the  jury.  The  choice  fell  on  Mr.  Harrison, 
whom  he  knew  was  careful,  earnest,  capable,  and  would  spare 
no  pains  to  make  his  speech  a  success. 

Governor  Wallace,  for  the  defense,  was  one  of  the  leading 
Indiana  lawyers.  He  was  an  old  and  experienced  lawyer, 
skilled  in  making  all  out  of  the  testimony  possible  in  its  pres- 
entation to  the  jury.  He  was,  moreover,  an  old  friend  of 
Mr.  Harrison's  grandfather.  The  records  of  1840  show  that 
John  Scott  Harrison  desired  to  be  appointed  by  his  father  to 
a  West  Point  cadetship,  and  that  the  father  preferred  the  son 
of  his  friend.  Governor  Wallace,  for  the  place,  rather  than  his 
own  son  ;  and  so  Wallace  was  appointed. 

It  is  perhaps  worthy  of  remembrance  that  it  is  not  an 
easy  thing  for  a  young  man,  with  that  degree  of  modesty 
that  had  always  characterized  Benjamin  Harrison,  to  enter  the 
lists  with  a  man  whom  he  had  always  been  wont  to  look  up 
to  with  some  reverence  as  his  grandfather's  friend.  Those 
associated  with  our  fathers  when  we  are  very  young  we  learn 


7o  THE  LIFE  OF 

to  reverence  almost  as  much  as  we  do  our  fathers  themselves. 
To  face  duty  in  such  a  case  is  worthy  of  more  honor,  because 
it  is  the  manifestation  of  real  courage,  than  to  egotistically  and 
with  brazen  eflVontery  seek  to  contend  with  great  men. 

The  evening  session  met  at  "candle  lighting,"  and  the 
candles  cast  very  shadowy  light  over  the  old  low,  dingy  court- 
room, crowded  with  people.  The  room  was  full  of  smoke, 
from  candles  and  stove,  and  the  fumes  of  tobacco  made  the  air 
nauseating.     The  prospect  was  not  encouraging. 

At  the  time  for  his  speech,  Mr.  Harrison  took  from  his 
pocket  his  notes  that  he  had  written  during  the  da^',  and  began 
to  scan  them.  To  his  disgust  he  could  see  nothing  in  the  dim 
light  but  very  uncertain  tracings  with  a  hard  pencil  —  not  a 
word  could  he  make  out  in  that  light.  He  began  his  speecli, 
but  soon  found,  from  the  almost  breathless  audience,  that  lie 
was  winning  more  sympathy  for  his  youth,  or  his  misfortune, 
than  for  the  wisdom  of  his  utterances.  His  voice  was  heard  at 
the  farthest  corner.  He  tried  again  to  scan  the  apparently 
almost  blank  leaves.  He  could  tell  nothing,  and  after 
discovering  that  he  must  fail  if  he  depended  on  those  notes, 
he  threw  them  aside,  and  boldly  launched  forth  into  the 
argument  without  them.  He  remembered  the  essential  parts 
of  the  testimony,  and  was  not  hindered  by  details;  so  perhaps 
it  was  best.  At  any  rate  he  canvassed  the  ground  so  thor- 
oughly and  so  clearly  that  he  called  down  the  praises  of  audi- 
ence and  old  lawyers  on  his  head. 

When  Governor  Wallace  rose  to  reply  he  took  occasion 
first  to  gracefully  and  earnestly  compliment  the  young  lawyer 
on  his  speech.     And  this,  Mr.  Harrison's  first  jury  case,  was 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  71 

the  beginning  of  a  warm  friendship  that  rose  between  himself 
and  Governor  Wallace,  which  was  not  hindered  in  the  least 
by  the  young  lawyer's  triumph  in  that  case.  This  circum- 
stance had  also,  no  doubt,  something  to  do  with  linking  the 
fortunes  of  Mr.  Harrison  and  of  Governor  Wallace's  son,  Wil- 
liam Wallace,  together  for  a  time. 

This  was  the  same  son  who  had  obtained  the  West  Point 
cadetship  when  it  was  desired  by  Mr.  Harrison's  father.  The 
partnership  came  about  in  this  way  :  Young  Wallace,  who 
had  already  won  some  success  in  his  practice,  received,  in 
1855,  the  nomination  for  county  clerk.  As  the  canvass 
required  a  good  deal  of  time,  he  desired  some  one  to  assist 
him  in  his  practice.  He  met  his  young  friend,  Ben  Harrison, 
on  the  street  one  day,  and  told  him  that  he  had  some  clients, 
and  that  if  he  would  go  into  the  office  and  take  them,  he  would 
share  the  profits  with  him.  This  is  all  the  contract  that  was 
ever  made,  and  the  young  firm  began  its  existence  with  little 
experience,  but  with  the  energy  of  young  blood  and  brains 
to  carry  to  success. 

Mr.  Wallace,  since  that  time,  has  borne  testimony  in  favor 
of  the  admirable  qualities  of  young  Benjamin  Harrison,  as  he 
then  knew  him.  He  has  ascribed  to  the  young  lawyer 
from  North  Bend,  quickness  of  apprehension,  clearness, 
method  and  logic  in  analysis  and  statement  of  cases,  natural 
ability  to  draw  truth  from  witnesses,  successfulness  in  winning 
from  courts  and  juries  their  closest  attention.  Said  Mr.  Wal- 
lace :  "He  was  poor.  The  truth  is,  it  was  a  struggle  for 
bread  and  meat  with  both  of  us.  He  had  a  noble  young  wife, 
who  cheerfully  shared  with  him  the  plainest  and  simplest  style 


72  THE  LIFE  OF 

of  living.  He  did  the  work  about  his  home  for  a  long  time 
himself,  and  thus  made  his  professional  income,  not  large, 
keep  him  independent  and  free  from  debt." 

Among  those  of  the  Indijinapolis  bar,  with  whom  Mr. 
Harrison  came  in  contact  in  those  days,  were  Oliver  H.  Smith, 
John  L.  Ketchum,  Simon  Yandes,  Hugh  O'Neal,  and  David 
Wallace.  These  were  all  men  of  note  as  lawyers,  and  they 
all,  then  and  afterwards,  bore  testimony  to  the  rare  abilities  of 
the  young  lawyer.  This,  to  him  was  a  larger  school  than  that 
of  the  office  of  Storer  &  Gwynne  at  Cincinnati,  for  here  he 
was  not  an  apprentice  ;  yet  he  always  made  use  of  his  sur- 
roundings, of  whatever  nature,  to  draw  from  them  information 
and  experience. 

Not  long  after  the  burglary  trial,  another  case  gave  Ben 
Harrison  a  chance  of  manifesting  the  metal  that  was  in  him.  A 
negro  cook  at  the  Ray  House,  Indianapolis,  was  accused  of  put- 
ting poison  into  the  coffee  of  some  of  the  boarders  with  a  view 
to  murder.  The  case  was  attracting  wide  attention.  Harrison 
was  called  to  the  prosecution,  and  had  but  one  night  to  pre- 
pare. He  went  to  the  office  of  young  Dr.  T.  Parvin,  who 
afterwards  became  noted  as  one  of  the  professors  of  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  two  spent  the  whole 
night  experimenting,  Harrison  studying  thoroughly  the  effect 
of  poisons,  and  thus  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  subject 
superior  to  that  of  his  opponents  in  the  case.  The  next  day 
the  defense  met  more  than  its  match  in  the  thoroughly  pre- 
pared young  lawyer.  He  applied  himself  so  vigorouslv  that 
he  won   the   case,  and    secured  conviction  for   the    prisoner. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


73 


He  won  also  additional  praise  for  himself  from  noted  lawyers 
and  from  all  who  were  acquainted  with  the  case. 

The  two  young  men,  William  Wallace  and  Benjamin  Har- 
rison, continued  as  partners  in  law  for  some  years.  In  the 
West,  especially  among  the  older  class  of  citizens,  there  is  a 
prejudice  against  young  men  in  profession,  as  to  their  ability. 
A  young  lawyer,  however  brilliantly  he  may  have  succeeded 
in  a  few  cases,  "will  not  be  employed  half  so  readily  as  an  old 
lawyer  who  fails  to  win  more  than  half  his  cases.  In  spite  of 
the  lack  of  prestige  the  Harrison  &  Wallace  firm  grew  in 
favor  and  success. 

In  iS6o  Wallace  had  retired  from  the  partnership,  and 
Harrison  formed  another  with  W.  P.  Fishback.  But  in  that 
same  year  another  chance  offered  itself,  and  he  was  not  slow 
to  seize  the  opportunity. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  YOUNG  POLITICIAN. 

THE     CAMPAIGN     OF     1S56 THE     NEW     TARTY     AND     ITS     PRINCIPLES  — 

A  SUCCESSFUL  CANDIDACY — A  MEMORABLE  DEI5ATE  AT  ROCKVILLE 
—  THE  LINCOLN  CAMPAIGN — A  RETROSPECTIVE  VIEW  OF  THE  PO- 
LITICAL PARTIES  — THE  SITUATION  IN  1S60 — WHIG  PRINCIPLES 
AND  FREE  SOIL  ISSUES  —  THE  SUCCESSFUL  CAMPAIGN —  THE 
REPORTER  IN  OFFICE  —  THE  GUNS  OF  SUMTER — BOUND  AT 
HOME  —  A    PATRIOT. 

The  enthusiasm  awakened  in  the  breast  of  the  boy  of  1S40 
was  still  in  tlie  breast  of  the  3'oung  man  of  1S56.  But  he  was 
not  a  demonstrative  young  man  ;  and  was  never  found  on  the 
street  corners,  in  groceries,  in  offices,  or  in  bar-rooms,  count- 
ing off"  arguments  on  his  fingers.  He  was  rather  chary  of  his 
opinions  ;  not  through  any  haughtiness,  nor  yet  because  he  had 
no  confidence  in  them,  but  because  rather  of  a  native  diffi- 
dence, and  no  doubt  also  of  a  sense  of  the  "  fitness  of  things  " 
—  rather  the  unfitness  of  the  assumption  of  a  mere  youth. 

Nevertheless,  he  could  express  his  opinions  clearly  and 
tersely  when  pressed,  or  at  a  time  when  in  doing  so  he  could 
accomplish  any  good  object.  His  political  views  were  not 
unknown  in  Indianapolis,  and  when  the  campaign  of  1856 
came  on,  he  was  positively  pressed  into  the  service  of  speech- 
making. 

Many  remember  that   campaign.     It   had    not,  perhaps,  the 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  75 

enthusiasm  of  1840;  but  it  had,  at  least  on  one  side,  that 
enthusiasm  born  of  deep  conviction,  fei-vent  patriotism,  and 
indomitable  purpose.  As  the  Whigs,  in  the  memorable  Harri- 
son campaign,  had  for  the  first  time  crystallized  into  a  party 
with  definite  principles  and  aims,  so  far  as  the  people  were 
concerned,  so  in  the  Fremont  campaign,  the  Republican 
party  was  standing  at  the  threshold  of  its  active  life.  The 
party  had  not  sprung  into  existence  on  a  mere  issue,  however 
important,  which  being  successful,  would  leave  no  reason  for 
the  party's  longer  existence.  It  came  into  being  for  the  con- 
servation of  principles  born  with  the  Republic  and  that  will 
last  while  the  Republic  lasts.  So  long  as  these  principles  are 
opposed  by  men  or  parties  there  will  be  a  necessity  of  organ- 
ized society  for  their  defense.  When  the  Republican  party 
shall  prove  untrue  to  this  trust,  on  the  springing  of  issues  that 
involve  the  principles,  that  element  in  the  Nation  which  has 
rallied  around  and  defended  them  from  the  days  before  the 
Revolution,  will  combine  for  their  defense  under  more  favorable 
conditions  for  success,  and  more  patriotic  leadership.  "  The 
Union  must  and  shall   be  preserved." 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  men  who,  as  boys,  caught  the 
spirit  of  1840,  are  chosen  and  trusted,  as  men,  as  standard 
bearers  to-day.  Hope  need  not  "  close  her  bright  eyes,  nor 
curb  her  high  career,"  so  far  as  the  party  is  concerned,  while 
men  like  Benjamin  Harrison  are  leaders. 

The  nominations  had  just  been  made.  "  Fremont  and 
Dayton"  was  a  signal  of  safety  in  the  approaching  storm. 
Though  they  might  not  hope  for  success  at  the  polls  that  year, 
they  knew  that  the  elements  of  patriotism  predominated  in  the 


76  THE  LIFE  OF 

Nation,  and  as  time  would  make  known  their  intentions,  a 
mighty  majority  would  come  up  in  the  future.  Of  this  pres- 
cient confidence,  young  Benjamin  Harrison  had  liis  full 
share  ;  and  this  fact  was  known. 

A  ratification  meeting  was  called  in  Indianapolis.  Some- 
body must  speak  ;  and  a  good  many  thought  of  Mr.  Harrison. 
He  w'as  at  work  in  his  ofiice,  which  was  in  Temperance  Hall, 
a  building  that  stood  on  Washington  Street,  between  Illinois 
and  Meridian  streets.  He  heard  a  stamping  of  many  feet  up 
the  stairway,  and  he  heard  many  loud  voices.  Then  he  saw 
an  excited  crowd  of  men  rush  in,  and  the  leader  seize  him  by 
the  arm.  He  must  go  and  make  the  ratification  speech  ;  the 
crowd  had  gathered  and  was  waiting,  and  there  was  no 
speaker. 

He  protested.  He  was  interested,  of  course — they  knew 
that ;  but  he  was  a  law-yer,  not  a  politician.  Besides,  he  was 
not  prepared.  Let  older  men  speak  ;  they  could  do  more  good  ; 
they  had  experience  and  study  which  he  did  not  have.  But 
no  excuse  would  be  taken  —  he  must  speak.  When  he  pro- 
tested again,  the  men  lifted  liim  up  onto  their  shoulders  and 
carried  him  to  the  assembled  throng,  made  him  stand  upon  a 
goods  box,  and  required  of  him  a  speech. 

He  was  introduced  as  the  grandson  of  William  Henry  Har- 
rison. "  I  want  it  understood,"  said  he,  on  fiicing  the  peo- 
ple, "  that  I  am  the  grandson  of  nobody.  I  believe  every  man 
should  stand  on  his  own  merits."  He  was  not  without  pride, 
of  course,  that  he  was  the  grandson  of  an  illustrious  man  ;  and 
that  relationship  —  that  blood — he  knew  helped  to  make  him 
the  man  that  needed  not  to  be  ashamed  ;  and  the  consciousness 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  77 

of  it  was  fuel  to  the  fire  of  courage  within  him.  But  it  was 
■  a  cardinal  doctrine  with  him  that  honor  and  success  should 
follow  the  honest  effort  of  personal  and  inherent  virtues,  as  effect 
follows  cause  ;  that  they  should  not  be  hindered  by  any  arbi- 
trary rules  or  favoritism  in  society  ;  and  that  honor,  and  even 
prestige,  claimed  or  assumed  on  account  of  blood,  or  any- 
thing acquired  by  nature  or  accident,  defrauds  merit  of  its 
rightful  and  lawfully  acquired  possession. 

But  under  the  circumstances  it  became  his  duty  to  speak  ; 
and  speak  he  did.  And  the  effect  followed  the  cause  —  he 
was  honored  for  his  worth  and  ability.  He  was  in  demand 
from  that  time  for  the  stump,  and  right  loyally  he  did  his 
part.  In  Franklin  County,  not  long  after,  he  was  called  on 
again,  and  some  enthusiastic  friend,  to  capture  the  crowd  for 
him  before  he  had  shown  whether  he  was  worthy  of  it,  intro- 
duced him  again  as  the  grandson  of  the  renowned  President. 
Again  he  protested  against  that  method  of  introduction,  saying 
that  he  preferred  to  speak  for  himself,  not  for  his  grandfather. 
These  incidents  taught  his  friends  that  they  had  in  him  a 
thorough  American  ;  and  he  has  done  nothing  since  to  shake 
that  confidence.  He  took  part,  not  only  in  the  campaign  to 
its  close,  but  in  every  state  or  local  campaign  from  that  time 
until  i860. 

Meanwhile,  whatever  was  good  in  the  old  Whig  party  had 
adjusted  itself  to  a  new  setting  in  the  Republican  party  ;  and 
the  old  settings  —  organization,  name,  watch-words  and  tokens 
of  successful  issues,  and  successful  issues  themselves  —  were 
cast  aside.  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  record,  that  even 
the  old  log  cabin,  of  the  campaign  of  1S40,  was  totally  de- 


78  THE  LIFE  OF 

stroyed  by  fire,  on  the  25th  of  February,  1858  —  the  malicious 
work  of  a  discharj^ed  servant.  This  may  serve  as  a  token,  or 
an  ilhistration  of  the  fact  that  the  malicious  servants  of  the  old 
Whig  party,  whom  it  had  refused  to  glorify  in  office  and 
spoils,  were  really  the  destroyers  of  the  party.  And  as  the 
sacred  influences  of  the  old  cabin  at  North  Bend  had  now  cen- 
tered in  the  newer  brick  house  on  the  form, —  for  even  Grand- 
mother Harrison,  on  whose  birthday  the  cabin  was  burnejl, 
was  living  with  her  son,  and  knew  not  of  the  burning  for  sev- 
eral years, —  so  all  the  sacred  principles  and  memorials  of  the 
Whigs  had  been  safely  conserved  in  the  new  and  safe  Republi- 
can structure  before  the  Whig  organization  was  swept  away. 

In  1S60  Ben  Harrison's  circumstances  and  his  Pfrowinsr  con- 
fidence  in  his  own  ability  made  him  feel  justified  in  having  his 
name  presented  for  the  suffi-ages  of  his  fellow-citizens,  and  he 
became  the  candidate  for  the  office  of  reporter  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Indiana.  Throughout  the  memorable  campaign  of 
that  year  his  voice  was  heard,  almost  from  one  end  of  the 
State  to  the  other,  pleading  for  the  principles  of  the  American 
Union. 

An  incident  illustrating  his  grasp  of  those  principles,  his 
power  in  debate,  and  the  thorough  mastery  he  always  had  of 
his  subjects  before  he  undertook  to  speak,  occurred  during 
this  campaign.  He  had  an  appointment  to  speak  in  the  Court 
House  at  Rockville,  in  Park  County.  When  he  arrived,  he 
learned  that  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  one  of  the  most  noted 
Democratic  leaders  of  the  State,  and  in  that  campaign  can- 
didate for  governor  of  Indiana,  and  already  near  to  the  con- 
spicuous position  he  afterwards  held  in  national  fame,  was  also 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  79 

to  speak  in  the  town.  Park  was  a  strong  Democratic  county, 
but  the  Republicans  were  anxious  to  gain  further  ground,  and 
to  counteract  the  influence  of  Hendricks  on  that  day.  In  a 
forlorn  hope  they  asked  Harrison  if  he  would  undertake  a 
Joint  discussion  with  Hendricks.  The  Democrats  also,  fear- 
ing nothing  from  the  boyish-looking  Harrison,  were  anxious 
for  the  debate  ;  but  Hendricks  would  not  condescend  to  enter 
into  a  formal  debate  with  so  youthful  an  opponent.  He 
would  speak  two  hours,  he  said,  and  the  young  man  might 
talk  two  hours  longer,  if  he  wanted  to,  and  Hendricks  would 
listen. 

The  issues  were  local,  as  well  as  national.  The  Democrats 
were  in  power  in  the  State,  and  under  their  administration  of 
affairs  huge  swindles  had  been  carried  on,  notably  what  was 
known  as  the  swamp-land  frauds.  Mr.  Harrison  had  made 
himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  this  subject,  as  well  as  with 
the  general  questions.  While  Mr.  Hendricks  was  speaking,  it 
seemed  to  Democrats  and  Republicans  that  the  victory  was 
already  his.  The  crowded  Court  House  rang  with  cheer  after 
cheer,  as  the  speech  proceeded.  On  the  platform  sat  Daniel 
Voorhees,  who  was  already  rising  to  fame,  and  other  local 
Democratic  leaders  ;  while  the  youthful  Harrison,  not  having 
either  the  courtesy  of  a  chair,  or  a  condescending  notice  of  his 
presence  by  Mr.  Hendricks  or  his  colleagues,  sat  on  a  desk  and 
let  his  feet  hang  toward  the  floor.  And  thus  Mr.  Hendricks' 
speech  went  on  until  it  was  twice  two  hours  in  length  —  at 
least  young  Harrison  felt  it  so.  At  last  the  "  great  speech  " 
ended,  and  Mr.  Hendricks,  suddenly  remembering  a  forgotten 


8o  THE  LIFE  OF 

duty,  quietly  and  politely  let  the  people  know  that  they  ought 
to  remain. 

When  Mr.  Harrison  rose  before  the  tired  audience,  there 
was  not  a  cheer,  nor  a  motion  of  any  kind  that  gave  him  to 
understand  that  his  friends  were  with  him.  He  felt  that  his 
friends  were  wishing  for  some  greater  man  to  answer  that 
speech.  When  he  began,  his  voice  was  heard  throughout  the 
large  room,  and  for  a  inoment  one  might  have  been  reminded 
of  his  first  utterances  when  he  appeared  the  first  time  before  a 
jury.  But  only  for  a  moment.  His  first  statement  was  a 
proposition  which  he  then  said  the  Democrats  had  once  be- 
lieved. 

Here  Mr.  Voorhees  arose  with  great  dignit}'  and  denied  that 
the  Democrats  had  ever  believed  the  proposition. 

"  Fellow-citizens,"  rang  out  the  clear  voice  of  the  young 
candidate,  before  Mr.  Voorhees  had  time  to  regain  his  seat, 
"  the  denial  of  the  gentleman  induces  me  to  amend  my  state- 
ment. I  now  assert  that  every  Democrat  believed  the  propo- 
sition, except  Mr.  Voorhees  —  he  was  then  a  Whig." 

The  applause  that  followed  sho\ved  the  appreciation  of  the 
retort  by  the  audience  ;  while  the  sharpness  of  the  thrust  made 
Mr.  Voorhees  conclude  to  keep  his  seat  thereafter.  So  the 
young  speaker  went  on,  and  before  he  had  filled  out  half  his  time, 
the  tide  hat!  turned  in  his  favor,  as  the  cheering  and  applause 
and  eager  attention  of  the  audience  plainly  indicated.  His 
sarcasm  went  to  the  heart  of  the  arguments  that  had  been  set 
up  in  the  belief  that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  matters.  When 
he  closed,  cheers  rose  up  as  if  to  rend  the  roof  of  the  large 
auditorium.     Mr.  Hendricks  told  him,  when  the  meeting  had 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  8i 

adjourned,  that  he  would  never  again  consent  to  give  him  a  two- 
hours  closing  speech.  In  speaking  of  the  affair  afterwards, 
the  chairman  of  the  meeting  said:  "I  have  heard  a  good 
many  political  debates  in  my  day,  but  I  never  heard  a  man 
skin  an  opponent  as  quickly  as  Ben  Harrison  did  Hendricks 
that  day." 

In  that  year  there  was  a  much  larger  rallying  of  forces  to 
the  Republican  standard.  Time  was  doing  its  work.  When 
the  election  was  over,  it  was  apparent  that  Lincoln  had 
received  i8o  electoral  votes  against  123  for  all  the  other  can- 
didates ;  and  then  were  fairly  begun  the  trying  times  of  the 
Republic  —  the  times  foreshadowed  in  1854,  ^''^^^  even  earlier. 

Great  men  are  seldom  in  haste.  It  is  hard  for  good  men  to 
believe  that  bad  men  are  so  bad.  It  was  hard  for  men  like 
Webster  and  Clay  to  believe  that  the  South  coidd  not  be  con- 
ciliated, earlier  than  1854,  when  the  mutterings  of  discontent 
and  threats  of  disunion  were  heard  throughout  her  borders. 
These  men  had  labored  all  their  lives  to  build  up  the  Union, 
and  it  was  hard  for  them  to  realize  the  idea  of  rebellion.  They 
were  not  ready  for  Free  Soil  issues.  They  believed  that  the 
discontented  portion  of  our  country  might  be  conciliated. 

But  in  1854,  ^^^  startling  news  ran  over  the  country  that 
Congress  was  about  to  repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise  Bill 
of  1820.  By  that  bill  it  had  been  provided  "  that  in  all  the 
territory  ceded  by  France  to  the  United  States,  under  the 
name  of  Louisiana,  which  lies  north  of  latitude  36"^,  30'  N., 
except  only  such  part  thereof  as  is  included  within  the  limit 
of  the  State  (Missouri)  contemplated  by  this  act,  slavery  and 
involuntary  servitude,  otherwise   than   in    the  punishment  of 


82  THE  LIFE  OF 

crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted,  shall 
be  and  is  hereby  forever  prohibited."  To  repeal  this  would 
be  a  proclamation  of  irreconciliation,  and  a  greater  insult  to 
those  who  had  urged  conciliation  than  to  those  who  had  not. 
It  would  be  a  plain  profession,  on  the  part  of  the  South,  that 
they  did  not  intend  to  be  conciliated  with  anything  less  than 
unqualified  submission  to  their  demands  in  all  things.  It 
would  be  slavery  in  all  the  territories,  a  designedly  taking 
advantage  of  a  majority  in  Congress  to  force  an  overbalanc- 
ing of  slave  power,  that  slaveiy  might  go  wherever  the 
South  commanded  it  (and  that  w\as  not  uncertain,  for  the  ex- 
pressed declaration  of  incautious  leaders  had  already  pointed 
to  states  not  territories),  and  it  would  be  bad  faith. 

Genuine  old  Whigs  declared  that,  while  slavery  might  sta}' 
where  it  was,  it  should  advance  no  further :  the  manner  of 
these  southern  threats,  and  the  proposed  repeal,  were  any- 
thing but  echoes  of  Union  and  liberty-loving  hearts.  Men 
who,  while  issues  had  been  conflicting  had  been  uncertain  in 
their  party  moorings,  began  to  rally  to  the  standard  of  the 
grand  old  defenders  of  American  faith.  But  these  defenders  — 
tired  of  intrigue,  and  grown  at  last  impatient  of  the  dallying 
of  mere  politicians  with  questions  now  grown  so  serious — had 
bound  themselves  together  in  a  new  party.  It  was  the  very 
best  Whig  element  —  the  element  that,  first  of  all,  could  be 
touched  and  warned  by  any  threatened  danger  to  human  liber- 
ties. For  the  bill  had  now  been  repealed — "declared  inop- 
erative and  void  " — and  that  was  warning  enough. 

The  Whigs  brought  into  the  new  organization  the  elements 
of  body  and  blood.      From  the  beginning  of  its  existence  the 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  83 

Whig  party  had  championed  those  principles  which  recognize 
the  equal  rights  of  all  American  citizens.  ' '  Protection  to  home 
industries  " —  that  means  equal  rights  in  living  and  getting  a 
living.  "Internal  improvements  " —  that  means  equal  facilities 
for  trade  to  all  sections,  equal  enjoyment  of  great  advantages, 
and  the  example  of  employment  at  wages  of  Americans.  "  A 
just  and  dignified  foreign  policy  " —  that  means  that  a  govern- 
ment "  by  the  people,  for  the  people,"  should  command  the 
I'espect  of  all  nations;  for  "foreign  policy  "  in  a  monarchy 
means  the  welfare  of  the  king,  and  "foreign  policy"  in  a 
republic  means  the  \^lfare  and  honor  of  the  people.  "The 
Union,  one  and  inseparable"  —  that  means  the  husbanding 
of  the  powers  that  sustain  these  principles,  the  balancing  of 
equal  elements,  the  possibility  of  the  success  of  our  government 
principles,  which  "  states'  rights,"  especially  as  then  held 
by  Democrats,  made  impossible. 

When  an  issue  is  made,  involving  the  continued  existence 
of  equal  rights  as  fundamental  in  our  government,  those  be- 
lieving in  it,  and  seeing  its  danger  in  the  issue,  rally  together, 
and  the  party  is  formed.  At  such  a  trumpet  call  the  Re- 
publican party  was  organized.  The  "Anti-Nebraska" 
movement  in  Ohio  and  other  States  heralded  the  gathering 
of  the  clans.  Other  movements  came  quickly.  Then  the 
first  National  Convention  of  the  Republican  party,  in  1856, 
nominated  Fremont  and  Dayton  for  President  and  Vice-Presi- 
dent, with  the  result  already  named.  In  Indiana,  alone,  Fre- 
mont received  94,375  votes  against  22,386  for  Fillmore,  and 
118,670  for  Buchanan  —  no  small  showing  for  the  first  cam- 
paign of  a  party. 

The  consolidation  was  not  complete,  however,  even  as  late 


84  THE  LIFE  OF 

as  iS6o,  for  there  were  four  tickets  in  the  field  that  year. 
This,  indeed,  apparently,  did  not  seriously  affect  the  Republi- 
can party,  and  not  at  all  as  to  the  result.  But  one  of  the 
divisions,  at  least,  shows  that  there  were  loyal  men  who  still  re- 
fused to  believe  the  South  capable  of  the  high-handed  wicked- 
ness of  rebellion.  These  were,  for  the  most  part,  men  who 
had  affiliated  with  the  Democrats,  who  loved  the  name,  and  who, 
though  they  could  not  believe  their  brethren  meditated  crime 
so  dire,  would  not  go  with  them  even  to  the  declaration  of 
principles  so  adverse  to  American  government.  These, 
wherever  they  might  formerly  have  wandered  when  party 
lines  were  falsely  pointed  out  along  local  and  personal  issues, 
and  however  the  unnatural  affiliation  may  have  become 
sacred,  were  really  Whigs  in  principle,  for  they  would  not  go 
where  Democratic  opinions  logically  led  them,  and  when  the 
war  came  on,  their  declarations  on  behalf  of  union  were  as 
clear  sounding  as  those  of  the  old  Whigs.  Witness  the  speech 
of  Mr.  Douglas,  in  Chicago,  at  the  outset  of  the  Rebellion. 

It  need  not  be  said  that  Benjamin  Harrison  kept  close 
watch  of  the  march  of  events,  as  the  years  went  on,  and  that 
he  was  alwaj-s  in  full  sympathy  with  the  new  Republican 
party.  The  fires  of  indignation  grew  hotter  in  his  breast  from 
the  days  of  the  discussion  of  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise liill,  and  of  the  Dred  Scott  Decision.  It  was  the  zeal 
of  patriotism  that  gave  power  to  his  words  in  i860. 

As  one  of  the  results  of  this  campaign,  he  was  elected  and 
soon  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  of  reporter  of  the 
Supreme  Court.  It  will,  perhaps,  never  be  a  matter  of  history 
just  how  much,  or  how  little,  he  contributed  to  the  success  of 
the   State  ticket  —  to  the  election  of  Henry  S.  Lane  as  gov- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  85 

ernor  of  Indiana — and  of  the  National  ticket  in  that  State. 
But  it  is  certain  that,  young  as  he  was,  his  services  were  highly 
appreciated  by  his  Republican  colleagues,  and  that  he  won  not 
a  few  votes  to  the  Republican  candidates. 

This  office,  coming  to  him  at  that  time,  was  of  great 
financial  benefit.  He  had  just  negotiated  for  a  house,  for 
which  he  was  to  pay  $2,900  —  a  large  sum  for  the  young  law- 
yer. He  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  get  the  house  "  at  a  bar- 
gain," from  the  Honorable  A.  G.  Porter,  afterwards  governor 
of  Indiana.  He  was  to  pay  for  it  by  installments,  and  it  was 
understood  that  Mr.  Porter  would  not  be  "hard  on  him"  in 
case  of  failure  in  promptness  in  some  payments.  But  this  did 
not  lessen  Mr.  Harrison's  sense  of  obligation,  and  he  felt  that 
the  contract  was  just  as  binding  as  if  his  creditor  had  been 
unmerciful.  He  hoped  to  be  able,  in  not  many  months,  to  pay 
the  full  amount,  by  the  help  of  the  income  of  his  office 
added  to  that  of  his  pi'ofession.     He  had  only  made  one  small 

payment,  so  far,  and   he   realizec^  the   struggle  before  him,  in 

i 
spite  of  the  aid  of  his  office.     The  house  stood  on  North  New 

Jersey  Street,  near  the  corner  of  Vermont.  It  was  larger  and 
more  commodious  than  the  cottage  in  which  they  had  made 
their  home  since  coming  to  Indianapolis.  In  this  house, 
which,  so  far  as  the  terms  were  concerned,  they  could  now  call 
their  own,  their  daughter  was  born,  just  a  year  before  he  be- 
came a  candidate  for  the  office  of  reporter — that  is,  in  1859. 

Thus,  with  a  fair  income  from  his  office  and  profession 
combined,  and  in  a  fair  way  to  pay  for  his  home,  with  a 
loving  wife  and  two  beautiful  and  dear  children,  this  husband 
and  father  could  have  been  no  happier. 

But  he  had  scarcely  "  settled    himself"    in    his  office,  when 


86  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

the  guns  of  Sumter  startled  the  country.  The  Southern 
leaders  had  dashed  down  the  fond  hopes  of  their  Northern 
friends — they  would  not  be  conciliated.  Calm  judgment  had 
decided  this  before,  while  the  States  were  "  formally  "  seced- 
ing, if  not  even  earlier  :  but  now  all  could  know  the  situation. 
Then  came  the  call  for  75,000  three-months  volunteers.  That 
meant,  on  the  other  hand,  a  hope,  even  in  the  hearts  of  the 
most  patriotic  and  those  of  the  coolest  judgment  in  the  North, 
that  the  rebellion  was  not  so  formidable  but  that  it  could 
soon  be  put  down. 

Benjamin  Harrison  wanted  to  go  to  the  battle-field.  He  felt 
the  spirit  of  patriotism  rising  in  him,  and  the  almost  irrepressible 
desire  to  be  in  the  nation's  vanguard  that  characterized  so  many 
of  the  time.  But  it  was  only  for  three  months  ;  the  rebellion 
would  be  ended  by  that  time,  and  the  welfare  of  the  country 
assured,  and  business  not  retarded  ;  and  he  was  under  a  sol- 
emn contract  w^hich  he  would  return  in  three  months  to 
find  practically  violated  and  impossible  to  meet,  as  agreed. 
Moreover,  his  office  claimed  him  ;  and  his  canvass  had  been 
made  with  the  understanding  of  fidelity  on  his  part.  And 
then  his  wife  and  children  lived  by  what  he  earned,  and  the 
source  of  supplies  for  their  sustenance  would  be  cut  oft'  by  his 
going.  He  felt  that  his  duty  was  at  home,  at  least  until 
there  was  a  more  urgent  demand  for  soldiers. 

But  he  was  none  the  less  interested  in  the  success  of  those 
who  went,  and  his  voice  continued  to  be  heard  in  favor  of  the 
Union.  There  was  no  part  of  Benjamin  Harrison's  history  — 
education,  training,  early  influences,  reading,  natural  disposi- 
tion, inlieritance  — that  did  not  tend  to  make  him  every  inch 
a  patriot. 


Chapter  VII. 


THE  PATRIOT  SOLDIER. 

"THREE    HUNDRED    THOUSAND    MORE" THE    EFFECT    ON    THE    YOUNG 

PATRIOT A   VOLUNTEER    RECRUITING  AND    ENLISTING  SERVICE 

COLONEL  OF  THE  SEVENTIETH  INDIANA KENTUCKY  AND  TEN- 
NESSEE  FIRST  BRIGADE  OF  THE  THIRD  DIVISION  OF  THE  TWEN- 
TIETH     ARMY     CORPS THE     ATLANTA     CAMPAIGN THE     BATTLE 

OF  RESACA "COME    ON,  BOYS  !  " THE    BATTLE    OF    PEACH    TREE 

CREEK A  LETTER  FROM  GENERAL  HOOKER  TO  THE  SECRE- 
TARY OF  WAR ITS  RESULT  A  PROMOTION  —  A  PARTISAN  IN- 
SULT AT  HOME  —  THIRTY  DAYS  LEAVE  OF  ABSENCE  REELEC- 
TION  SHERMAN    AT    SAVANNAH AN    OLD-FASHIONED  BATTLE  AT 

NARROWSBURG VICTORY JOINS  SHERMAN  —  THE  GENERAL  RE- 
TURNS    HOME. 

Mr.  Harrison  alw^ays  possessed  the  qualities  of  leadei'ship, 
namely,  the  warmth  of  good-fellowship,  and  the  spirit  of  disci- 
pline. As  to  the  first,  no  boy  or  man  who  was  ever  with 
him  long  would  fail  to  find  it,  and  feel  its  glow  and  influence. 
But  there  was  one  quality  he  possessed,  as  grand  and  noble  as 
any  other,  which,  however,  prevented  the  display  of  his  warm- 
heartedness and  friendship  when  there  was  no  apparent  occasion 
for  them.  This  quality  he  inherited  largely  from  his  mother. 
It  was  what  maybe  called  "  singleness  of  mind  in  study." 
From  both  ancestral  branches  he  inherited  the  power  to  think. 
From  his  mother  came  not  only  a  quiet,  thoughtful  disposition. 


88  THE  LIFE  OF 

but  the  power  of  concentration  —  of  forgetting  all  else  but  his 
subject,  and  giving  the  whole  force  of  his  mind  to  that.  A  nat- 
ural and  persistent  student,  this  quality  manifested  itself  more 
than  any  other.  Hence  to  the  more  communicative  he  some- 
times seemed  cold,  until  he  woke  from  his  meditations. 
Then  the  more  communicative  always  made  a  discovery —  of 
a  warm  heart,  communicative  power,  a  good  nature,  a  genial 
spirit,  an  enthusiasm  and  a  powe'r  that  won  the  lasting  friend- 
ship of  the  man  or  boy. 

As  to  the  spirit  of  discipline,  it  was  first  manifested  in  his 
own  yielding  to  it.  He  who  loves  discipline,  loves  it  in  his 
own  life  and  affairs.  To  apply  himself,  to  be  regular  in 
his  habits,  to  submit  himself  to  rules,  were  all  natiu\'d  to  him. 
Order  was  a  law  of  his  mind.  Add  to  this  the  study  and  the 
practical  discipline  of  years,  and  we  have  all  the  conditions 
but  one  of  the  thorough  soldier  ;  for  even  courage  is  a  nat- 
ural concomitant  of  these  qualities. 

That  one  condition  is  the  occasion  ;  and  when  the  occa- 
sion came,  the  soldier,  Benjamin  Harrison,  chafed  until  he 
was  free  to  use  his  abilities  for  his  country.  His  patriotism 
was  unbounded.  Indignation  for  the  insults  that  had  been 
heaped  on  his  country  was  burning  within  him  ;  and  the  fact 
that  he  did  not  burst  away  from  all  restraint,  and  leave  his 
wife  and  infant  children  to  sutler  alone,  and  involve  himself 
in  the  complications  of  a  broken  contract,  when  he  did  not  be- 
lieve the  government  was  in  such  serious  danger  but  that  the 
rebellion  could  Ijc  shortly  put  down  by  those  who  had  gone, 
and  were  going,  whose  circumstances  made  it  less  of  a  sacri- 
fice, shows  the  control  he  had  over  himself. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  89 

So  the  call  of  May  3d  went  by  ;  then  those  of  July  2  2d  and 
25th.  Hope  had  risen  as  battles  one  after  another  had  been 
fought,  though  now  and  then  the  Confederates  were  success- 
ful. But  such  battles  as  those  of  Philippi  and  Carrick's 
seemed  to  indicate  what  the  Union  arms  might  do  in  a  decis- 
ive engagement.  The  defeat  in  the  battle  of  Carthage,  in 
Missouri,  seemed  small  in  comparison  with  the  indications  that 
the  Union  soldiers  were  about  to  be  victorious.  So  great  was 
this  confidence  everywhere  that  the  call  for  the  "  decisive 
battle  "  went  over  the  land  in  the  cry,  "  On  to  Richmond  !  " 

Mr.  Harrison  shared  this  confidence,  and  was  impatient ; 
but  he  knew  enough  to  understand  that  decisive  battles  cannot 
be  called  at  once.  Still,  as  the  armies  took  up  the  march  from 
Washington  and  Alexandria,  as  premature  as  the  movement 
was,  even  such  men  as  Harrison  were  yet  hopeful.  Then 
came  that  dreadful  disaster  at  Bull  Run,  which  threw  the 
country  into  gloom,  and  stopped  the  clamor  of  over-enthusi- 
asts and  complainers  in  the  North.  Mr.  Harrison  had  not 
been  among  the  over-enthusiasts  nor  the  complainers,  but  he 
felt  the  keen  sorrow  that  came  to  every  loyal  heart,  and  the 
bitter  disappointment  at  the  result ;  yet  it  did  not  shake  his 
faith  in  what  the  Northern  arms  could  do. 

When  the  call  for  500,000  came,  there  was  such  a  generous 
resjDonse  that  instead  of  500,000  there  were  nearly  700,000 
soldiers  enlisted.  The  i^ebellion  had  grown  to  enormous  pro- 
portions, but  few  could  realize  that  it  was  so  well  organized. 
Surely  700,000  faithful  soldiers  would  be  sufficient,  even  if 
thi'ee  years  were  consumed  in  planning  and  executing. 

So  the  summer  and  autumn  went  on,  with  varying  success. 


90  THE  LIFE  OF 

The  engagements  were  generally  between  insignificant  forces, 
as  to  numbers,  and  not  comparatively  important,  though  there 
were  a  few  exceptions,  notably  the  victory  of  Forts  Hatteras 
and  Clark,  the  defeat  at  Lexington,  Missouri,  and  others. 
The  winter  and  spring  witnessed  several  more  important  battles. 
But  the  vastness  of  the  rebel  preparations  began  to  be  manifest, 
and  also  the  measures  necessary  to  overcome  the  rebel  forces. 
The  meaning  of  the  intrigues  of  the  preceding  years  began  to 
be  seen.  A  sense  of  the  depth  of  the  Southern  purpose  began 
to  be  felt.  The  embarrassments  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  gov- 
ernment previous  to  the  attack  on  Fort  Siunter  began  to  reflect 
the  shadow  of  the  planning  that  had  had  its  origin  years  before, 
while  the  Southern  leaders  were  professing  love  for  the  Union. 

The  condition  of  affairs  before  Richmond  was  not  flattering 
to  the  North.  The  Union  was  apparently  in  as  much  danger 
as  ever.  The  desperation  of  the  South  would  allow  no  yield- 
ing until  their  last  hope  was  gone.  But  the  indignation  of  the 
North,  raised  as  the  disclosures  went  on,  had  lulled  for  a  time. 
A  sort  of  apathy  seemed  to  succeed  its  early  outcry  —  the  nat- 
ural reaction  from  the  intense  excitement  of  the  first  months 
of  the  war. 

Then  came  the  call  of  the  2d  of  July,  1S62,  for  "300.000 
more."  In  manv  quarters  there  was  awakening;  but  in  Indi- 
ana there  was  apparently  but  little  response.  Governor  Mor- 
ton had  by  no  means  given  up  hope  of  raising  the  share  allotted 
to  the  State,  but  he  was  half  discouraged  —  at  least  sad  at  the 
apathy.  While  he  was  one  dav  in  his  otiice,  at  this  time,  he 
was  called  on  by  Benjamin  Harrison  and  William  Wallace.  A 
cousin  of  the  latter  desired  a  position  of  second  lieutenant  in 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  91 

one  of  the  new  regiments.  The  governor  called  them  into  a 
back  room,  and  closed  the  door. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "•  there  is  absolutely  no  response  to 
Mr.  Lincoln's  last  call  for  troops.  The  people  do  not  appear 
to  realize  the  necessities  of  the  situation.  Something  must  be 
done  to  break  the  spirit  of  apathy  and  indifference  which  now 
prevails.  See  here  !  Look  at  those  workmen  across  the 
street,  toiling  to  put  up  a  new  building,  as  if  such  things  could 
be  possible  when  the  country  itself  is  in  danger  of  destruction." 

Mr.  Harrison  was  a  man  whose  patriotism  had  never  flagged. 
The  interest  of  such  a  man  does  not  depend  upon  popular 
excitement,  and  is  not  subject  to  the  law  of  reaction.  The 
strain  upon  his  good  reasons  for  staying  at  home  had  been 
heavy  and  constant.  He  now  saw  the  real  situation,  and  he 
knew  that  his  duty  to  his  country,  in  this  extremity,  outweighed 
his  duty  to  his  loved  ones  and  his  home.  Before,  this  had  not 
been  the  case,  so  far  as  the  views  commonly  held  were  con- 
cerned. But  when  it  came  to  the  point  that  his  country 
needed  him  at  a  special  post  for  a  special  emergency,  he  could 
not  feel  that  others  ought  to  bear  his  burden.  Besides,  he 
could  not  now  say  that  "  the  war  will  soon  end,  and  there  are 
more  than  enough  to  end  it  propitiously."  That  hope  had 
fled.  There  was  a  call  for  troops,  and  the  call  was  now  for 
any  who  were  willing  to  sacrifice  ;  and  he  was  willing.  He 
said  to  the  governor  that  he  would  help  to  raise  the  quota  for 
the  State,  and  he  was  certain  he  could  raise  a  regiment. 

"I  feel  certain  you  can,"  said  Morton;  "  but  I  would  not 
ask  you  to  do  more  than  that.  I  know  your  situation,  and 
v^ould  not  think  of  asking  you  to  go  yourself." 


92  THE  LIFE  OF 

This  was  the  feeling  of  a  heart  as  loyal  as  any  in  the  North 
as  to  Mr.  Harrison's  situation  and  his  duty  with  reference  to 
going. 

"  No,"  said  Mr.  Harrison.  "  If  I  make  a  recruiting  speech, 
and  ask  any  man  to  enlist,  I  propose  to  go  with  him,  and  stay 
with  him  as  long  as  he  stays,  if  I  live  so  long." 

-'Well,"  said  Air.  Morton,  ''you  can  command  the  regi- 
ment." 

"  I  don't  know  that  I  shall  want  to,"  replied  Mr.  Harrison. 
"  I  have  no  military  experience.     We  can  see  about  that." 

He  wx'nt  out  with  Mr.  Wallace,  and  the  two  proceeded 
along  the  street.  He  went  into  a  store  and  bought  a  military 
cap.  He  advertised  a  meeting  at  Masonic  Hall.  He  hired  a 
drummer  and  fifer,  and  stationed  them  before  his  law  otfice. 
He  hung  out  the  American  flag  from  his  window.  He  con- 
verted his  office  into  a  recruiting  station. 

The  city  woke  from  its  lethargy.  Military  caps  appeared 
here  and  there,  as  if  by  magic.  Very  soon  Company  A,  of 
the  Seventieth  Indiana,  was  made  up.  The  meeting  at  the 
Masonic  Hall  was  successful,  and  so  were  all  Mr.  Harrison's 
efforts.  In  an  exceedingl\  short  time  the  whole  Seventieth 
Regiment  was  made  up,  and  Mr.  Harrison  was  placed  at  the 
head  as  its  c(jloncl.  Within  a  month  after  he  received  his 
recruiting  commission,  on  the  14th  of  July,  he  was  with  his 
regiment  in  Kentucky,  ready  for  action. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  man  who,  because  he  had  not  been  of 
the  demonstrative  temperament  at  the  first,  and  had  felt  it  his 
duty  to  remain  at  home,  was  the  first  man  who  could  be 
depended  on  when  the  gloomiest  hour  came.     Upon  him   fell 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  93 

the  task  of  bringing  back  the  enthusiasm  of  the  people.  He 
did  not  hesitate  a  moment  when  his  duty  lay  clear  before  him. 
He  did  not,  at  that  time,  even  consult  with  his  wife.  He  went 
straight  from  the  governor's  office  to  find  his  military  cap,  the 
fife  and  drum,  the  hand-bills  for  the  meeting  and  to  swing 
out  the  stars  and  stripes. 

His  wife  knew  nothing  of  all  this,  until  he  went  home  at  the 
regular  hour,  and  told  her.  But  she  had  never  hindered  him 
in  any  duty  of  his  life  ;  she  would  not  hinder  him  now.  She 
gave  him  her  blessing.  And  when  he  left  her  for  the  field  the 
tears  and  words  at  parting  showed  what  a  sacrifice  she  had 
made.  He  left  his  business  aftairs  in  good  hands,  and  in  as 
good  shape  as  was  possible.  And  when  he  was  ordered  to 
the  front,  he  obeyed  with  as  clear  a  conscience  as  he  ever  had 
in  his  life. 

The  Seventieth  Indiana  was  composed  of  men  without  train- 
ing or  knowledge  in  military  affairs.  Colonel  Harrison  at  once 
set  about  the  task  of  drilling  them.  Every  possible  opportun- 
ity he  put  them  under  drill,  and  all  his  spare  time  was  spent  in 
studying  military  tactics. 

When  they  arrived  in  Louisville,  whither  they  had  been  has- 
tened, they  were  scarcely  able  to  load  their  Springfield  and 
Enfield  muzzle-loaders.  It  is  said  that  Colonel  Harrison  or- 
dered them  to  load  in  the  depot  before  boarding  the  train  for 
Bowling  Green.  They  began  to  show  to  the  rebel  sympathiz- 
ers standing  about  how  awkward  they  were,  and  so  received 
the  sneers  of  the  throng.  Some  of  them  attempting  to  drive 
down  too  much  paper  with  their  balls,  found  the  balls  wedged 
half-way  down  the  barrels  of  their  guns.     They  had  recourse 


94  THE  LIFE  OF 

to  the  walls  of  the  depot,  against  which  they  hammered  the 
ends  of  the  steel  ramrods  to  drive  down  the  balls.  But  at  last 
they  were  on  the  train  ;  and  it  was  not  many  hours  before  they 
were  in  Bowling  Green. 

Colonel  Harrison's  regiment  was  at  once  assigned  to  the  First 
(Ward's)  Brigade  of  the  Third  Division  of  the  Twentieth  Army 
Corps.  He  began  drilling  his  men  again,  and  getting  them 
ready  for  whatever  service  might  be  required  of  them.  And 
this  practice  he  kept  up  at  every  opportunity  during  his  entire 
service,  so  that  no  troops  were  better  in  discipline  than  his. 
He  also  sought  to  advance  himself  in  the  science  and  art  of 
war,  for  he  felt  in  this,  as  well  as  in  everything  else  he  was 
ever  called  to  do,  that  his  duty  was  not  done  if  energy  at  the 
supreme  moment  was  not  accompanied  with  all  the  knowledge 
and  skill  it  had  been  possible  for  him  to  acquire.  He  sat  up 
late  at  night,  when  possible,  studying  tactics,  and  during  the 
day,  when  he  could,  kept  his  men  under  constant  drill,  per- 
fecting them  for  more  dangerous  work.  This  was  also  par- 
ticularly fortunate,  as  it  was  all  needed  for  their  hard  and  bril- 
liant service  afterwards. 

It  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Seventieth  Indiana  —  the  first  in  the 
field  in  response  to  the  July  call — to  be  sent  for  some  months' 
skirmishing  through  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  as  a  part  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  Why  this  was  done  may  not  be 
known.  It  has  been  attributed  to  lack  of  sagacity  on  the  part 
of  the  brave  general  under  whom  Harrison  and  his  men  were 
placed.  In  any  case,  these  marches  and  skirmishes  were 
not  unimportant,  and  the  service  was  not  light.  It  was  also  a 
school  for  the  regiment. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  95 

At  last  the  Union  armies  of  the  West  began  to  gather  at 
Chattanooga.  General  Grant  had  been  appointed  lieutenant- 
general  of  all  the  armies,  and  had  gone  to  the  Potomac.  Gen- 
eral Sherman  had  taken  command  of  the  consolidated 
Western  armies.  For  a  time  Nashville,  Tennessee,  was  his 
headquarters  and  the  base  of  operations,  but  it  was  not  to  re- 
main so  long.  The  rebel  stronghold  had  been  at  Chattanooga, 
but  the  terrible  battles  of  Chickamauga  and  Chattanooga  had 
succeeded  in  dislodging  them  from  it,  and  cooping  up  the 
Union  forces  there  instead.  Afterwards  had  come  Sher- 
man's reinforcements,  and  the  brilliant  storming  and  captur- 
ing of  Lookout  Mountain  and  Missionary  Ridge  ;  and  thus 
Chattanooga  had  been  made  secure  for  occupancy  by  the  Union 
troops,  and  important  as  the  starting-point  for  a  great  cam- 
paign. Thence  Sherman  had  gone  down  into  Mississippi,  cap- 
turing artillery  and  ammunition,  destroying  arsenals  and  rail- 
roads, and  other  things  that  had  strengthened  the  rebel  hands. 

But  before  that  memorable  march  began,  the  sad  news  was 
carried  to  the  soldier  in  the  field  that  Grandmother  Harrison 
was  dead.  On  the  25th  of  February,  at  the  residence  of 
her  son,  John  Scott  Harrison,  near  North  Bend,  Ohio,  she 
had  quietly  laid  down  the  burdens  of  a  long  and  useful  earthly 
life,  and  found  the  rest  that  remains  for  the  faithful.  Thus 
passed  away  the  consort  of  William  Henry  Harrison,  the  sharer 
of  his  labors,  his  studies,  his  faith,  and  his  successes  and  joys 
of  life. 

She  was  the  last  personal  representative,  in  that  family,  of 
the  early  history  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  of  the  principles  and  is- 
sues based  upon  them  that  stirred  the  western  heart  and  estab- 


96  THE  LIFE  OF 

lished  the  earnest  and  honest  patriotism  that  has  since  charac- 
terized that  part  of  our  country.  To  her  influence  had  been 
due  the  conservation  of  Uie  principles  of  1840  in  the  Harrison 
home.  To  her  influence  had  been  due,  not  a  little,  the  instill- 
ing into  the  heart  of  the  boy  Ben  the  American  principles  that 
had  now  given  to  our  army  tlie  manly  and  brave  soldier  and 
colonel,  Benjamin  Harrison.  She  could  now  lie  down  to  rest 
with  the  sweet  consciousness  that  the  grand  American  ([uali- 
ties  of  her  husband  flourished  yet  in  the  life  of  her  grandson. 

The  7th  of  May,  1S64,  came.  The  armies  moved  out 
100,000  strong.  The  divisions  were  commanded  by  Generals 
Thomas,  McPherson,  and  Schofield.  The  boys  began 
"  Marching  through  Georgia."  General  Thomas'  division,  to 
which  the  Twentieth  Army  Corps  belonged,  had  been  massed 
at  Ringgold,  but  was  now  before  the  rocky  cliffs  of  Rocky 
Face,  upon  which  Johnston  had  strongly  fortified  himself  to 
dispute  the  passage  of  our  armies  through  Buzzard  Roost  Gap 
below.  On  the  Sth  of  May  occurred  the  assault  upon  Rocky 
Face  Ridge,  and  the  terrible  carnage  that  followed. 

Then  Johnston  suddenly  discovered  thiit  the  wily  general  of 
the  Union  forces  had  been  sending  a  division  through  Snake 
Creek  Gap,  some  distance  south,  to  the  rear,  and  was  threat- 
ening the  railroad  and  Resaca.  General  Johnston  withdrew 
from  his  works  on  Rocky  Face,  antl  cjuickly  intrenched  liini- 
self  at  Resaca. 

Around  Resaca,  which  was  a  small  town  on  the  Oostanula 
River,  were  hills,  swamps,  ravines,  and  the  densest  of  thickets. 
All  this  ground  was    familiar   to    the    enemv,  while    it    was    a 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  97 

strange  land   to   the  Union  men.     On  the   15th  of  May    the 
attack  was  made. 

Perched  on  the  crest  of  a  hill  that  commanded  the  approach 
to  the  town,  were  rebel  batteries  that  poured  incessant  fire 
into  the  Union  ranks.  It  became  positively  necessary  to  silence 
them,  but  it  would  require  brave  men  and  a  desperate  struggle 
to  do  it.  The  order  came  to  General  \VaiTl,of  the  First  Bri- 
gade, and  was  repeated  to  Colonel  Harrison. 

Between  the  brigade  and  the  batteries  was  a  dense  pine 
thicket  and  then  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  open  field,  so  that  Colo- 
nel Harrison  knew  nothing  of  the  .position  of  the  enemy  he 
was  to  charge.  But  he  commanded  his  officers  to  dismount, 
and  did  so  himself,  as  he  knew  it  would  be  impossible  to 
charge  through  that  thicket  on  horseback.  Then  he  said  to 
the  aide-de-camp  who  brought  the  order  : 

"  You  are  familiar  with  the  ground  outside.  I  am  not. 
Will  you  go  ahead  with  me  alone  and  show  me  this  battery? 
For  if  I  were  to  charge  out  now,  I  would  be  as  apt  to  charge 
flank  on  to  it  as  any  other  way." 

The  two  had  not  proceeded  far  when  a  puft'  of  smoke  from 
the  hill-crest,  and  the  report  which  followed,  indicated  the 
position  of  the  battery,  and  the  ball  screaming  by,  emphasized 
the  importance  of  the  order.  Colonel  Harrison  instantly  waved 
his  sword  to  his  men,  and  called  in  a  voice  that  caught  the  ear 
and  heart  of  every  man  within  its  reach  : 
"  Come  on,  boys!" 

Instantly    four    regiments  came  pouring  after  him.      They 
crashed  into  the  thicket  and  tore   along,  shouting   meanwhile, 
and  crying  "  forward  !"  to  each  other,  all  in  the  wildest  disor- 
7  „ 


98  THE  LIFE  OF 

der  —  for  it  was  impossible  to  preserve  the  lines  in  that  tangled 
underwood.  All  were  full  of  the  spirit  of  their  leader. 
They  soon  emerged  from  the  wood,  and  followed  him  on 
double-quick  toward  the  hill,  shouting  in  a  way  that  meant 
death  to  the  Confederates.  It  is  seldom  a  command  pro- 
duces such  effect  so  instantaneously  as  did  that  call  "Come 
on,  boys  !  "  attended  as  it  was  by  the  flash  of  the  sword  and 
the  ready  attitude  of  the  man.  The  Confederates  saw  it 
and  felt  it,  and  in  desperation  poured  a  murderous  fire  into 
the  advancing  columns.  Shot  and  shell  flew  thick  about  the 
brave  leader,  and  his  men  were  falling  fast.  Still  he  went  on, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  spirit  that  seemed  to  go  from  him 
to  his  followers,  one  might  have  thought  he  was  courting  death, 
or  shielding  his  brave  men  from  it. 

They  rushed  on  under  the  savage  fire  ;  and  only  the  roar  of 
cannons  and  muskets,  the  cries  of  wounded  and  dying,  the 
shouts  of  brave,  determined  men,  and  the  dense  smoke  that 
hovered  over  and  amidst  them  in  clouds  and  hid  the  sight  from 
heaven,  might  indicate  that  the  battle  was  going  on,  until  the 
outer  Confederate  lines  were  reached  ;  then  they  leaped  over  the 
breastworks,  and,  hand-to-hand,  they  grappled  with  the  desper- 
ate defenders.  The  cold  steel  bayonets  shone  no  longer  in  sun- 
light. Muskets  were  clubbed  —  only  pistol  reports  were  heard 
above  the  din.  Then  all  the  enemy  that  were  left  in  the  outer 
works  were  taken  prisoners. 

But  the  work  was  apparently  not  half  done,  and  that  com- 
mander never  left  any  work  of  his  in  that  condition.  The  bat- 
tery was  still  at  the  crest,  and  there  was  an  impassable  line  of 
brushwood  and  stakes  below  it.     Night  fell,  and  the  men  were 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  99 

still  busy.  They  were  digging  into  the  hill-side,  and  up  to- 
ward the  enemy's  guns.  If  the  enemy  were  feeling  secure  for 
a  time,  behind  the  barrier,  and  at  all  satisfied  at  the  havoc  made 
in  the  Union  ranks  —  for  fully  a  third  of  those  brave  soldiers  lay 
wounded,  dying,  and  dead  on  the  field  —  evidently,  also,  a 
counter  feeling  of  uneasiness  rested  upon  them,  for  the  spirit 
with  which  the  assault  had  been  made,  and  the  contest  kept  up, 
and  the  carrying  of  their  outer  lines,  meant  that  the  Union  colo- 
nel and  his  soldiers  did  not  intend  to  be  thwarted. 

The  tunnels  broke  through  the  hill  behind  the  works.  The 
guns  were  lowered  into  them.  And  when  the  morning  came, 
and  General  Sherman  looked  to  see  the  battle  for  the  hill-top 
to  be  renewed,  lo  !  the  work  was  done  —  the  enemy  had  with- 
drawn. 

Thus  did  Colonel  Harrison  perform  his  duty  at  Resaca.  He 
illustrated  in  his  strict  obedience  how  a  man  can  be  a  free  and 
independent  man,  untrammeled  in  his  thoughts  and  resources, 
and  still  obey.  His  enthusiasm,  his  making  the  cause  his  own, 
his  fertility  of  method  in  carrying  out,  all  showed  him  the 
grand  man  that  he  was. 

Johnston  withdrew  his  forces  across  the  Oostanula,  and  the 
victorious  Union  soldiers  marched  into  Resaca,  with  their  pris- 
oners and  captured  guns.  In  a  few  days  Johnston  was  fol- 
lowed by  our  armies,  which  began  to  concentrate  about  Adairs- 
ville  and  Cassville,  while  he  took  his  stand  down  on  the  Etow 
River.  After  some  skirmishing,  however,  he  crossed  that  river 
and  went  on  to  Allatoona  Pass  and  Pumpkinvine  Creek.  At 
both  those  points,  and  also  at  Dallas,  his  men  were  the  greater 
sufferers. 


loo  THE  LIFE  OF 

Thus  the  advance  toward  Atlanta  went  on  until  Shciman 
came  to  the  mountains  that  sheltered  Marietta.  He  soon  had 
Pine  and  Lost  Mountains  for  his  trophies,  and  on  the  27th  of 
June  made  a  vigorous  assault  on  Kenesaw  Mountain,  where 
Johnston  was  now  intrenched  behind  brushwood,  fallen  trees, 
natural  barriers,  and  works  that  had  taken  six  months  to  make 
almost  impregnable.  This  was  the  "citadel"  of  Marietta. 
On  July  2d,  another  assault  was  made  and  then  Sherman 
began  moving  his  forces  south  toward  the  Chattahoochie, 
when  Johnston  hastened  from  his  now  useless  fortress  to  inter- 
cept the  way  to  Atlanta.  So  our  troops  marched  into  Mari- 
etta. 

After  some  days,  during  which  the  two  armies  were  camped, 
one  on  each  side  of  the  Chattahoochie,  while,  for  a  time,  it 
was  dangerous  for  a  soldier  to  venture  from  behind  the  works 
on  either  side,  our  forces  succeeded  in  crossing.  But  bloody 
days  awaited  them  before  the  few  miles  to  Atlanta  could  be 
compassed. 

In  the  hard  lighting  of  the  previous  days.  Colonel  Harrison 
and  his  regiment  had  been  conspicuous.  He  was  in  the  corps 
commanded  by  General  Joe  Hooker,  which  led  the  ''  march  to 
the  sea,"  and  was  therefore  the  first  in  the  assaults.  He  was 
in  the  Third  Division,  commanded  by  General  Thomas,  and 
tliat  division  became  famous  for  its  bravery  and  successes,  as  it 
was  always  at  the  front.  He  was  in  the  First  Brigade,  under 
Ward,  which  consisted  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-ninth 
Illinois,  One  Hundred  and  Fifth  Illinois,  Seventy-ninth  Ohio, 
and  the  Seventieth  Indiana,  and  which  did  most  valiant  ser- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  loi 

vice  in  the  van  of    our  victorious  Western    armies    in   those 
days. 

His  character,  in  those  trying  times,  stood  every  test.  On 
the  field  he  was  the  same  as  at  home,  around  his  fireside,  or 
in  his  church.  No  better  testimony  can  be  given  to  the  char- 
acter of  any  soldier  or  commander  than  this,  given  by  one  of 
those  who  followed  him  in  those  dark  days  : 

"  One  scene  has  always  lived  in  my  memory.  Our  old 
chaplain,  Allen,  a  man  who  was  beloved  by  all  the  boys,  and 
for  whom  almost  every  man  in  the  regiment  would  have  given 
his  life,  conducted  service  on  Sunday  with  Colonel  Harrison, 
as  he  was  then,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Sam  Merrill  assist- 
ing. I  have  often  heard  General  Harrison  offer  up  the  prayer 
for  the  boys' welfare  and  protection  down  there  on  those  South- 
ern fields,  so  far  away  from  home,  and  many  times  have  heard 
him  address  the  boys  in  place  of  the  chaplain.  Never,  to  my 
knowledge,  in  all  the  trying  times  of  war,  did  I  ever  see  one 
thing  from  him  unbecoming  a  Christian.  I  think  the  bat- 
tle-field and  the  camp  bring  out  what  there  is  in  a  man  about 
as  well  as  anything  can,  and  I  have  seen  General  Harrison 
tested  in  every  way.  As  a  soldier,  courageous,  sympathetic, 
and  enduring,  the  army  had  no  better." 

His  care  and  sympathy  for  the  boys  won  all  their  hearts. 
He  never  took  authority  over  them  that  did  not  belong  to  him. 
Many  instances  could  be  related  of  his  generous  and  sympa- 
thetic help  which  he  rendered  to  the  sick,  or  wounded,  or 
dying.     One  or  two  must  suffice  at  this  point. 

In  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  a  captain  in  the  Seventy-ninth 
Indiana  Volunteers  was  seriously  wounded.     Colonel  Harrison 


X02  THE  LIFE  OF 

informed  the  captain's  brother,  a  sergeant,  of  it,  and  ordered  him 
to  report  at  headquarters.  The  colonel  had  his  own  horse 
saddled,  and  telling  the  sergeant  to  mount,  he  bade  him  hasten 
to  his  brother.  In  a  short  time  Colonel  Harrison  followed, 
and  going  up  to  the  wounded  man,  he  greeted  him  sympa- 
thetically, and  said  : 

"  Captain,  you  are  badly  wounded,  and  must  get  home. 
You  have  been  at  the  front,  and  of  course  have  no  money. 
Here  is  a  hundred  dollars  ;  take  it,  and  get  home." 

At  another  time  Colonel  Harrison  found  a  soldier  —  a  total 
stranger  —  on  the  field,  seriously  wounded.  He  told  him  to 
goto  the  hospital,  and  then  added  :  "  You  will  need  money 
—  here  is  twenty  dollars." 

A  time  was  now  coming  when  these  rare  qualities  of  the 
colonel  were  to  be  manifested  again  ;  but  before  that  time  there 
was  to  be  another  terrible  struggle. 

General  Johnston  had  been  removed  from  the  command  of 
the  Southern  army  at  Atlanta,  and  General  Hood  had  been 
appointed  in  his  place.  The  rebels  now  made  every  possible 
effort  to  save  the  city.  They  sallied  out  at  unexpected  moments  ; 
they  harassed  our  troops  in  almost  every  quarter ;  they 
brought  on  many  and  serious  skirmishes.  From  the  time 
Sherman's  men  stepped  upon  the  southern  bank  of  the  Chat- 
tahoochie  until  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  blood  scarcely  ceased  to 
flow. 

On  July  20th,  during  the  hard-fought  battle  at  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  the  same  signal  courage,  valor,  and  judgment  that 
had  shown  themselves  in  Colonel  Harrison  at  Resaca.  were 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  103 

again  displayed.  While  he  was  holding  his  forces  in  reserve, 
not  thinking  that  immediate  service  would  be  demanded  of 
them,  and  yet  ready  for  any  warning,  he  ordered  them  to  stack 
their  arms.  A  skirmish  line  was  sent  out,  and  the  brigade 
was  busy  at  dinner  ;  suddenly  they  heard  firing,  and  looking 
up  they  saw  upon  a  hill,  some  distance  away,  the  men  of  the 
skirmish  line  waving  their  caps,  and  heard  their  shouts  for 
assistance.  A  large  detachment  of  Hood's  forces  was  over 
beyond  the  hill.  It  would  not  do  to  let  them  come  over 
and  attack  him  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Not  an  instant  was  to 
be  lost.  The  battle  might  depend  upon  him.  General  Hooker 
was  already  sorely  pressed.  Colonel  Harrison  did  not  wait 
for  orders.  He  swung  himself  into  line  before  his  men,  and 
cried  : 

"  Come  on,  boys  !  We've  never  been  licked  yet,  and  we 
won't  begin  now.  We  haven't  much  ammunition,  but  if  nec- 
essary we  can  give  them  the  cold  steel,  and  before  we  get 
licked  we  will  club  them  down  ;  so  come  on." 

They  charged  up  the  hill  after  "Little  Ben,"  getting  ready 
as  they  ran.  They  were  joined  by  the  skirmish  line,  eager  for 
the  fray.  Just  over  the  hill,  among  the  trees,  and  behind  a 
rail  fence,  they  saw  the  Confederates  crouching  like  tigers. 
They  charged  on  them,  and  for  half  an  hour  there  was  hot  and 
terrible  fighting.  Finally  the  Confederate  force  was  repulsed. 
But  the  gallant  brigade  lost  250  men  in  that  short  thirty 
minutes.  This  was  the  decisive  stroke ;  and  the  day  was 
soon  won. 

The  next  day  the  fiery  General  Hooker  rode  the  lines,  and 


I04  THE  LIFE  OF 

seeing  Harrison,  he   called   out  with   an   oath   that  he  would 
have  him  made  a  brigadier-general  for  yesterday's  work. 

Later  General  Hooker  was  as  good  as  his  word.     Before 
many  months  he  sent  the  following  letter  to  Washington  : 


} 


HEADqUARTERS  NORTHERN  DEPARTMENT, 

Cincinnati,  O.,  Oct.  31,  1864. 
Hon.  E.  M.   Stanton,  Secretary  of   War: 

I  desire  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Department  to  the  claims  of 
Col.  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  the  Seventieth  Indiana  Volunteers,  for 
promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  volunteers. 

Colonel  Harrison  first  joined  me  in  command  of  a  brigade  of 
Ward's  division  in  Lookout  \'alley,  preparatory  to  entering  upon  what 
is  called  the  Campaign  of  Atlanta.  My  attention  was  first  attracted  to 
this  young  officer  by  the  superior  excellence  of  his  brigade  in  discipline 
and  instruction,  the  result  of  his  labor,  skill,  and  devotion.  With  more 
foresight  than  I  have  witnessed  in  any  officer  of  his  experience,  he 
seemed  to  act  upon  the  principle  that  success  depended  upon  the 
thorough  preparation  in  discipline  and  esprit  of  his  command  for  con- 
flict more  than  on  any  influence  that  could  be  exerted  in  the  field  itself, 
and  when  collision  came  his  command  vindicated  his  wisdom  as  much 
as  his  valor.  In  all  the  achievements  of  the  Twentieth  Corps  in  that 
campaign,  Colonel  Harrison  bore  a  conspicuous  part.  At  Resaca  and 
Peach  Tree  Creek,  the  conduct  of  himself  and  command  were  especi- 
ally distinguished.  Colonel  Harrison  is  an  officer  of  superior  abilities 
and  of  great  professional  and  personal  worth.  It  gives  me  great  favor 
to  commend  him  favorably  to  the  Honorable  Secretary,  with  the  assur- 
ance that  his  preferment  will  be  a  just  recognition  of  his  services  and 
martial  accomplishments. 

Very  respectfully,  ^our  obedient  servant, 

Joseph  Hooker, 
Major-  General  Commanding. 

The  justness   of  this  high  praise  was   fully  appreciated   by 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  105 

the  troops  under  Mr.  Harrison,  and  by  all  his  associate  and 
superior  officers. 

But  it  was  not  alone  in  the  courageous  charge  at  Peach  Tree 
Creek  that  Colonel  Harrison  won  glory  there.  He  discovei-ed, 
when  the  fight  was  over  that  day  that  his  surgeon  and  assis- 
tants had  by  some  means  become  entangled  with  another  bri- 
gade, and  could  not  get  back  ;  and  his  field  hospital  was  full  of 
men  —  wounded  and  dying.  He  could  not  wait  to  find  sur- 
geons. He  took  oft'  his  coat,  gathered  his  tent,  tore  the  latter 
into  strips,  and  began  bandaging  wounds.  He  had  words  of 
cheer  for  every  despondent  wounded  soldier,  sympathy  for  his 
pain,  and  tenderness  for  his  wounds.  He  received  dying  mes- 
sages, and,  in  short,  administered  comfort  wherever  it  was  pos- 
sible. It  is  said  that  when  the  surgeons  arrived,  they  found 
him,  his  bare  arms  covered  with  blood,  still  going  about  at- 
tending to  these  duties. 

This  record  is  but  in  accordance  with  his  record  during  his 
entire  army  service. 

He  continued  with  the  armv  until  the  foil  of  iVtlanta,  Sep- 
tember I  St.  His  services  were  conspicuous  for  their  bravery 
and  valor.  He  never  dishonored  the  record  made  at  Resaca 
and  Peach  Tree  Creek.  Moreover,  he  was  popular  with  offi- 
cers and  privates.  He  knew  "  the  boys,"  and  never,  except  in 
the  performance  of  official  duty,  assumed  to  be  in  any  way 
above  them. 

Up  to  the  fall  of  Atlanta,  Colonel  Harrison  had  asked  no 
leave  of  absence,  but  had  remained  at  his  post,  ready  for  any 
orders.  But  about  this  time  he  heard  from  his  friends  in  Indi- 
ana, that  he   had   been  nominated  again  for  reporter   of  the 


io6  THE  LIFE  OF 

Suprcinc  Court.  Oidinaiilv  perhaps,  lie  might  not  have  con- 
sidered this  a  good  reason  for  returning  home.  But  during 
his  absence,  he  had  received  a  wanton  insult  from  the  Demo- 
cratic Supreme  Court  in  Indiana,  in  their  declaring  the  office 
of  reporter  vacant,  and  electing  another  to  the  position,  solely 
because  the  rightful  official  was  fighting  the  battles  of  his  coun- 
try. It  was  natural  that  he  should  want  to  give  a  proper 
rebuke  to  that  spirit,  and  assert  himself  by  securing  an  election 
aga  i  n . 

So  he  obtained  leave  for  thirty  days'  absence,  and  receiving 
orders  from  the  War  Department  to  report  to  Governor  Mor- 
ton, he  returned  to  Indianapolis.  Glad  indeed  was  he  to  see  his 
wife  and  children,  and  they  were  rejoiced  to  see  him  again. 
After  a  short  rest  at  home  with  them,  he  began  a  vigorous  can- 
vass for  the  reporter's  office.  Nor  did  he  forget  the  issue  of 
the  general  campaign  as  he  made  his  speeches.  He  forgot, 
rather,  his  special  purpose  in  coming  home. 

But  that  purpose  was  accomplished,  nevertheless,  he  receiv- 
ing a  handsome  majority  over  his  opponent.  To  his  influence, 
also,  was  due,  in  no  small  degree,  the  large  majority  which 
Indiana  gave  to  Lincoln  in  the  succeeding  November. 

After  his  election,  he  returned  to  the  seat  of  war.  Soon 
after  the  November  election  came  the  fall  of  Savannah.  The 
expedition  of  Sherman  was  terminating  gloriously.  Hardee 
and  his  rebel  troops  evacuated  the  city  on  the  night  of  the 
2oth  of  November.  Sherman  brought  with  him  into  the 
city  1 ,000  prisoners,  150  cannons,  190  railroad  cars,  twelve 
locomotives,  much  ammunition,  three  steamers,  33,000  bales 
of  cotton,  and  15,000  slaves.     These  things  had  been  gathered 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  107 

along  the  route  from  Chattanooga,  and  especially  from  Atlanta. 
But  the  hardest  fighting  and  the  most  difficult  marching  had 
been  done  between  these  two  places  ;  and  Colonel  Harrison, 
now  General  Harrison,  had  borne  no  small  part,  therefore,  in 
making  the  expedition    successful. 

Simultaneous  with  the  fall  of  Savannah,  General  Hood, 
with  his  Confederate  forces,  turned  backward  and  marched 
toward  Pulaski,  Tennessee.  Here  Generals  Schofield  and 
Smith  were  concentrating  their  Union  forces  in  order  to  oppose 
him.  Ten  days  after  the  evacuation  of  Savannah,  the  battle 
of  Franklin  was  fought,  in  which  the  Confederates  were  de- 
feated with  a  loss,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  of  more 
than  five  thousand.  Then  came  the  sharp  conflict  near  Mur- 
freesboro',  Tennessee,  early  in  December  ;  and  soon  after  the 
decisive  battle  of  Nashville,  on  December  15th  and  i6tli.  In 
this  battle  General  Harrison  and  his  brigades  bore  a  most  con- 
spicuous and  important  part.  He  led  in  the  bloody  conflicts, 
and  Hood  was  driven  from  Tennessee.  This  put  an  end  to 
the  war  in  that  State,  and  practically  in  the  West.  Hence- 
forth the  field  was  the  Southern  Atlantic  States. 

About  this  time.  General  Harrison  heard  of  the  sickness  of 
his  two  children  with  scarlet  fever.  He  hastened  home,  and 
soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  their  recovery.  He 
then  received  orders  to  join  Sherman,  who  was  yet  in  Savan- 
nah. He  started,  this  time  with  his  wife  and  children,  to  go 
by  way  of  New  York.  On  the  way  he  himself  was  stricken 
down  with  the  scarlet  fever.  He  left  the  train  at  Narrows- 
burg,  and  there  during  the  coldest  of  the  New  York  winter, 
he  fought  the  disease  in  the  old-fashioned  manner. 


loS  THE  LIFE  OF 

It  was  a  small  way  station,  and  the  conveniences  were  few. 
His  physician  was  seventeen  miles  away,  and  could  not  be  in 
constant  attendance.  His  nurse  was  an  orderly  who  had  at- 
tended him,  and  who  was  experienced  also  in  nursing.  But 
soon  the  orderly  was  taken  down  with  the  disease,  and  nurs- 
ing devolved  upon  Mrs.  Harrison.  No  wife  was  ever  more 
faithful,  and  soon  by  her  care  he  was  able  to  be  up.  By  spring 
he  was  able  to  travel ;  and  was  soon  on  tlie  way  towards  North 
Carolina. 

Meanwhile,  Sherman  had  marched  triumphantly  from  Sav- 
annah to  Wilmington,  North  Carolina  ;  Columbia  had  sur- 
rendered ;  Charleston  had  been  evacuated  by  the  rebel  forces, 
and  the  American  flag  waved  over  the  ruins  of  Sumter.  Sher- 
man's army  was  coming  up  from  tlie  Soutli :  part  from  the 
southeast,  part  from  the  victories  of  Nashville.  Grant's  army 
was  pushing  the  enemy  from  the  North.  It  was  evident  that 
the  end  was  not  far  off. 

General  Harrison  was  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  closing  and 
triumphant  movements  of  Sherman's  army,  and  the  war.  On 
the  9th  of  April  occurred  the  surrender  of  General  Lee's 
army  to  Grant  at  Appomattox.  Then  came  the  darkest  —  at 
least  the  saddest  —  day  of  the  Rebellion — the  15th  of  April. 
The  evening  before  was  heard  the  shot  at  Washington  that 
rang  louder  than  the  cannons  of  all  the  battles,  and  on  the  15th 
Abraham  Lincoln,  to  whom,  more  than  to  any  other,  was  due 
the  prosecution  of  the  war  to  its  glorious  assurance  o£  success, 
breathed  out  his  life. 

On  the  26th  of  April,  1865,  at  Durham's  Station,  North 
Carolina,  General  Johnston  surrendered  to  General   Sherman. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  109 

General  Harrison  was  present  on  that  occasion,  having  taken 
a  part  in  bringing  about  that  welcome  result.  Thus  finally 
triumphed  the  Northern  armies. 

It  was  a  grand  review  that  was  held  in  Washington  soon 
after.  Four  of  the  darkest  pages  in  the  history  of  the  world 
had  been  written  since  the  review  there  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war.  Now  the  banners  were  riddled  and  torn,  the  swords  were 
broken  and  stained,  the  guns  were  battered  and  the  uniforms 
were  old,  and  torn,  and  tattered.  But  every  thread  of  the  old 
flags  was  more  sacred  than  the  brightest  flag  that  had  ever 
floated  from  the  dome  of  the  Capitol.  The  soldiers  stepped 
more  proudly  than  four  years  before  ;  and  altogether,  Washing- 
ton never  saw  a  grander  sight.  Nor  was  there  a  prouder 
heart  there  that  day  than  that  of  Benjamin  Harrison. 
And  no  man  stepped  more  gladly,  for  there  was  not  a  more 
patriotic  soldier,  nor  one  who  had  performed  a  more  con- 
scientious and  faithful  service,  than  he.  So  the  soldiers 
went  home. 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN, 

THE    FIRST    REPUBLICAN    PRESIDENT    OF    THE     UNITED    STATES. 


Chapter  VIII, 


A  LAWYER  OF  EXPERIENCE. 

TAKES  UP  ROUTINE  OF  OFFICE  OF  REPORTER A  VIEW  OF  THE  SITUATION 

GENERAL  HARRISON  RESUMES  PRACTICE  OF    LAW SOME  NOTED 

CASES  THE      CHARACTER       OF       THE       MAN  THE      CITIZEN      AND 

CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE  OF  ASSOCIATES —  FAMILY MR.  FISH- 
BACK  LEAVES  THE  FIRM  —  "PORTER,  HARRISON  &  HIKES  "  — 
"HARRISON  &  HIKES  "  —  "HARRISON,  HINES  &  MILLER"  — 
THE    "clem"    CASE. 

Immediately  on  returning  home,  General  Harrison  took  up 
the  routine  of  his  office.  He  felt  that  his  long  absence  made 
diligence  more  incumbent  upon  him  —  but  it  was  only  his  keen 
sense  of  duty,  and  the  remembrance  of  the  situation  in  which 
he  had  left  his  affairs  for  the  army.  His  sensitive  conscience 
was  thoroughly  satisfied  with  the  course  he  had  taken. 

In  iS6i  and  1S62,  he  had  kept  pace  with  his  work  in  the 
office.  He  had  prepared  volumes  XV.  and  XVI.  of  reports, 
and  had  almost  finished  volume  XVII.  It  was  now  like  taking 
up  the  office  for  the  first  time,  so  far  as  the  work  on  hand  was 
concerned  ;  but  his  previous  experience  made  it  easier  than 
before. 

Notwithstanding  the  stormy  period  of  the  reconstruction, 
which  now  began,  the  difficult  questions  of  finance,  and 
grumbling  speeches  of  the  Democratic  party  —  always  warning 
of  failures  that  never  came — people  of  all  parties  now  felt  more 


112  THE  LIFE  OF 

secure  in  their  homes  and  business  than  they  had  felt  for  years. 
The  shadow  of  the  vanishing  war-cloud  did  not  depress. 
Wh.cn  that  cloud  had  been  looming  up  before  the  awful  storm, 
no  one  knew  what  it  portended.  Doubt  and  fear  were  in 
every  heart.  Though  the  Northern  Democrats  sympathized 
with  the  Southern  people,  so  far  as  the  mere  questions  of  the 
right  of  states  to  secede  and  the  slavery  extension  were  con- 
cerned, they  dreaded  the  war  and  its  results.  Though  they 
all  blamed  the  Republican  party  for  the  war,  and  many  of 
them  sympathized  outright  with  rebel  feelings  and  threw  the 
weight  of  their  influence  against  the  Northern  arms,  thcv  did 
not  want  the  war  in  the  North,  and  dreaded  the  frequent 
menacing  attitude  of  the  Southern  armies  toward  the  Northern 
States.  In  spite  of  their  ungrateful  professions,  they  now 
rejoiced  in  the  security  of  a  country  saved  by  the  Union  sol- 
diers ;  and  in  their  hearts  they  felt  a  gratitude  their  prejudice 
and  partyism  prevented  their  expressing.  General  Harrison's 
reputation,  therefore,  had  not  really  suffered  with  the  Demo- 
crats, and  was  greater  than  ever  with  the  Republicans.  The 
gratitude  of  the  latter  was  ojDcnly  and  honestly  shown.  The 
soldiers  of  Indiana  all  received  the  most  cordial  ovation  the 
grateful  people  could  give  them.  There  were  also  other  brave 
Indiana  officers  —  captains,  colonels,  generals — but  none  of 
them  were  more  hcMiored  than  General  Harrison. 

Immediately  on  his  return  he  took  up  again  the  profession 
of  law.  A  partnership  was  again  formed  with  Mr.  Fishback, 
this  time  including  the  Honorable  A.  G.  Porter,  and  the 
name  of  the  firm  became  Porter,  Harrison  &  Fishback.  There 
was  not  a  bettor  combination  of  talent  in  the  state.    Mr.  HarrI- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  113 

son  bore  his  full  share  of  responsibility,  and  did  his  full  portion 
of  the  work,  notwithstanding  his  official  duties.  He  slighted 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  It  would  be  impossible  to  sup- 
pose, from  the  habits  long  formed,  that  he  could  bring  himself 
to  face  an  uncompleted  task  at  the  hour  for  its  completion.  He 
sat  up  many  a  night  until  near  morning ;  he  lost  not  a  moment 
during  the  day  in  studying  his  work,  and  he  never  failed  to  be 
ready  at  the  appointed  time. 

Some  of  the  most  noted  cases  before  the  courts  of  Indiana 
during  the  years  from  1865  to  1S70  had,  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  these  lawyers  ;  and  the  best  talent  of  the  country  was 
often  arrayed  against  them.  But  Mr.  Harrison  and  colleagues, 
if  for  the  plaintiff,  in  most  cases  secured  conviction  ;  if  for  the 
defendant,  in  most  cases  succeeded  in  clearing.  There  were 
clients  that  deserved  conviction,  and  yet  deserved  a  full  chance, 
and  the  best  talent  on  their  side.  In  such  cases  all  was  done 
for  them  that  honest  lawyers  could  do  —  frequently  the  lighten- 
ing of  the  penalty.  This  firm  did  much  in  allaying  the 
prejudice  against  lawyers  as  a  class,  that  existed  so  generally 
in  Indiana.  The  feeling  prevailed,  especially  among  the 
poorer  class  of  people,  that  all  lawyers  were  dishonest.  Such 
firms  as  that  of  Porter,  Harrison  &  Fishback  proved  that  the 
honest  law  of  demand  and  supply  was  as  steady  in  the  law- 
yer's trade  as  in  any  other.  There  are  more  men  with  honest 
cases  than  get  justice.  When  a  lawyer  becomes  noted  for  his 
faithfulness  and  honesty,  he  may  refuse  all  dishonest  clients, 
and  still  have  more  than  he  can  attend  to. 

This  explains  why  Mr.  Harrison  did  not  become  a  brilliant 
meteor  at  the  start  of  his  profession  in  1854.     ^^  chose  the 
8 


114  THE  LIFE  OF 

old-fashioned  rough  path  of  honesty,  that  led  indeed  more 
surely  to  success,  but  to  success  at  a  greater  distance.  He 
seemed  to  think  this  method  the  only  one  he  could  tolerate. 
As  he  avoided  the  path  to  fame  that  led  through  the  heralding 
of  his  ancestry,  so  he  avoided  that  which  led  through  anything 
but  effort  and  genuine  merit.  He  had,  indeed,  a  diflerent  and 
more  conscientious  reason  for  avoiding  the  littleness  and  dis- 
honesty of  pettifoggery,  but  it  w^as  repulsive  to  his  sense  of 
independence,  nevertheless. 

The  lavi^yer  in  the  office  now  was  not  the  same  that  was  in 
the  office  before  the  war.  Then  the  vmcertain  term  "rising 
young  lawyer  "  might  fitly  be  applied  to  him.  Now  he  was 
older  ;  his  army  service  had  given  him  a  rugged,  but  valuable 
experience  with  men  ;  he  had  broader  views  of  law,  of  politics, 
of  life  ;  he  had  his  past  experience  as  a  lawyer  firmly  set  in 
memory  and  character.  He  could  now,  with  fitness,  be  called 
an  experienced  lawyer  ;  and  that  term  conveys  an  impression 
that  he  was  more  than  a  mere  lawyer :  he  was  a  citizen,  a 
man  among  men,  a  master  of  liis  profession.  His  character 
as  a  citizen  was  of  the  highest  type.  He  loved  his  home,  his 
wife,  and  children.  He  instilled  into  his  children's  hearts 
those  principles  of  honor  and  integrity,  without  which  no 
youth  can  grow  up  a  benefit  to  others,  a  noble  citizen.  His 
home  was  a  little  republic  ;  and  if  he  and  his  wife  held  the 
ruling  power  in  their  hands,  they  deemed  that  they  held  also 
the  education,  the  training,  and  tlie  welfare  of  their  subjects 
in  their  hands.  Thus  educating,  instilling,  their  commands 
became  mere  guides  to  the  children's  desires ;  and  in  the 
highest  sense  they,  in  this  way,  represented  them.     There  was 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  115 

none  of  that  stern,  rigid  inforcement  of  rule,  before  the  child 
was  taught  the  meaning  of  the  rule,  or  the  faith  and  confidence 
that  saw  in  their  superior  wisdom  the  highest  reason  why  the 
rule  should  be  followed.  So,  in  his  home,  its  organization,  its 
government,  its  teachings,  Mr.  Harrison  proved  himself  a  true 
citizen  of  his  country. 

But  he  did  this,  also,  in  the  carrying  out  of  his  own  immediate 
public  duties.  He  was  a  faithful,  trusty  lawyer.  He  was  faith- 
ful in  his  business  affairs.  He  was  a  faithful  friend  to  the 
poor.  He  was  faithful  to  the  needs  of  his  town,  of  his  county, 
of  his  State,  ot  his  country.  He  considered  himself  a  part  of 
the  city,  and  held  himself  ready  to  bear  even  more  than  his 
share  m  its  service.  In  a  like  attitude  he  stood  toward  his 
country.  In  all  his  conduct  toward  others,  he  manifested  no 
selfishness.  But  he  was  no  fawning  servant  of  men.  He 
conformed  to  no  unreasonable  whims  or  demands  of  any  class. 
He  stood  on  his  own  plane,  and  reached  down,  or  up,  or  out, 
toward  others.  He  was  himself,  Benjamin  Harrison,  or  no- 
body. He  was  never  guilty  of  wearing  old  clothes,  covered 
with  dirt,  having  the  legs  of  his  trousers  in  his  muddy  boots, 
and  hayseeds  in  his  whiskers,  on  purpose  to  win  the  affec- 
tions and  votes  of  farmers.  If,  for  any  reason,  he  had  little 
money,  and  could  not  afford  any  but  old  clothes,  and  if 
tramping  through  mud  had  made  it  necessary  to  wear  his 
trouser  legs  in  his  boots,  and  if  by  woi^king,  or  otherwise, 
hayseeds  had  been  scattered  over  him,  he  would  not  have  been 
ashamed  before  any  man,  or  if  compelled  to  face  it,  any 
audience  —  for  that  would  have  been  a  predicament  for  which 
he  was  not  to  blame,  and  in  which  there  was  no  dishonor,  and 


ii6  THE  LIFE  OF 

he  would  have  been  himself.  But  if  he  must  violate  his  ovs^n 
tastes  for  cleanliness,  and  change  his  own  customs,  and  be  what 
he  was  not,  in  order  to  win  the  farmers,  or  any  other  class, 
then  he  did  not  want  their  affections  nor  their  votes.  His  soul 
revolted  from  that  species  of  hypocrisy,  as  well  as  from  all 
other  species. 

He  was  not  ashamed  to  be  himself.  Whatever  his  tastes, 
or  opinions,  or  faith,  he  was  not  ashamed  to  own  them. 
He  and  his  family  were  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  Indianapolis,  and  he  was  always  to  be  found  at 
his  post.  He  was  one  of  the  most  faithful  leaders  in  the 
church.  He  belonged  to  the  regular  officers  of  the  church, 
and  taught  the  large  Bible  class  in  the  Sunday  School.  His 
manner  of  teaching  showed  his  great  interest  in  that  w^ork  : 
he  sought  to  interest  every  member  of  the  class,  by  asking  the 
questions  personally,  and  by  personal  talk,  and  the  class  in 
general  by  illustration,  and  being  constantly  at  work  ;  and  he 
brought  such  thorough  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
especially  of  the  subject  of  the  day  to  his  class,  as  showed  that 
his  interest  extended  beyond  the  class-room  and  the  recitation 
hour.  He  was  a  Christian  at  home.  He  taught  it  to  his  chil- 
dren ;  he  practiced  it  in  his  conduct  toward  them,  toward  his 
wife,  toward  all  guests,  and  in  his  personal  life  ;  he  never  failed 
to  give  thanks  at  table,  and  kept  up  family  prayers.  He  was 
a  Christian  abroad.  He  practiced  it  in  his  profession,  and  in 
all  his  relations  to  others.  In  other  words,  he  was  thoroughly 
unselfish  in  his  conduct  toward  his  God  and  his  fellow-men  — 
that  was  his  Christianity. 

No  man  ever  had  the  confidence  of  his  associates  in  p«-ofes- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  117 

sion  and  business,  more  than  did  Mr.  Harrison.  He  had  been 
tried  in  all  his  opinions,  and  in  his  integrity  at  every  point,  and 
had  not  failed.  His  magnetism  was  the  magnetism  of  char- 
acter ;  men  were  drawn  to  him  always  through  the  conscious- 
ness of  his  thorough  reliability.  It  was  like  a  safe  shelter 
from  a  storm  to  be  in  his  presence  and  feel  that  here  was  a 
man  that  could  be  depended  on.  Though  one  might  not  agree 
with  his  opinions,  yet  one  felt  that  whatever  his  opinions  were, 
they  would  be  carried  out,  and  that  all  his  conduct  would  be 
consistent  with  them. 

What  has  been  written  of  him  may  also  be  written  of  his 
family,  as  to  character.  His  faithful  wife  was  a  companion  in- 
deed in  his  thoughts,  his  opinions,  his  methods,  his  religion,  his 
life.  As  a  consequence  of  parental  influence,  and  partly,  also 
as  an  inheritance,  the  son  and  daughter  were  of  the  same  con- 
victions, and  sincerity,  and  character.  It  was  one  of  those 
families  in  which  the  guest  has  impressions  of  the  beauty  and 
sacredness  of  the  family  and  the  home.  His  son  was  now 
approaching  the  age  of  sixteen,  when  boys  begin  to  consider 
themselves  young  men,  and  feel  the  restraints  of  home.  But 
in  Russell  Harrison  there  was  little  of  such  chafing.  He  loved 
his  home,  his  father,  mother,  and  sister,  and  the  sacred  place. 
The  daughter  was  yet  scarce  fourteen,  but  was  already  some- 
what educated  and  accomplished,  though  in  manner  and  char- 
acter she  was  far  from  the  premature  dreams  of  "  society." 

In  1870  Mr.  Fishback  left  the  firm  to  take  charge  of  the 
Indianapolis  Journal.  He  afterwards  resigned  control  of  that 
paper  to  become  editor  of  the  St.  Louis  Globe- Democrat.  He 
left  his  testimony  in  Indian-a  as  to  the  ability  and  honesty  of 


ii8  THE  LIFE  OF 

General  Harrison  as  a  lawyer  ;  and  has  since,  in  a  direct  man- 
ner, testified  to  his  high  qualities.  On  his  retirement,  Judge 
Hines,  a  lawyer  of  no  mean  ability  and  reputation,  entered  the 
firm,  which  then  became  "  Porter,  Harrison  &  Hines."  Sub- 
sequently Mr.  Porter  retired  from  the  firm,  which  continued 
until  1874  as  "Harrison  &  Hines."  In  that  year  Mr.  Miller 
joined  the  firm,  and  it  was  "  Harrison,  Hines  &  Miller."  Mr. 
Porter  also  bore  testimony  to  the  high  character  and  worth, 
and  to  the  great  abilities  as  a  lawyer,  of  his  partner.  General 
Harrison.  The  following  words  of  Mr.  Porter  refer  both  to 
his  early  and  his  subsequent  career  as  a  lawyer :  "  Amplitude 
of  preparation,  large  views  of  questions,  the  widest  knowledge 
of  his  profession  that  could  be  acquired  in  such  a  time,  dis- 
tinguished him,  and  he  rose  rapidly  in  his  profession."  The 
following  testimony  of  Mr.  Porter,  applies  to  Mr.  Harrison's 
ability  as  an  orator  in  politics,  as  well  as  at  the  bar  :  "  With  all 
his  eloquence  as  an  orator,  he  never  spoke  for  oratorical  effect ; 
his  words  always  went  like  a  bullet  to  the  mark.  He  reminds 
one  of  the  saying  of  the  great  Irish  orator  and  patriot,  O'Con- 
nell,  that  a  good  speech  is  a  good  thing,  but  the  verdict  is  the 
thing.  He  therefore  always  pierced  the  core  of  every  ques- 
tion that  he  discussed,  and  in  every  contest  in  which  he  was 
engaged  he  fought  to  win."  Again,  said  Mr.  Porter  of  him: 
"  He  is  in  every  respect  a  complete  lawyer." 

Further  testimony  may  be  given.  A  gentleman  of  large 
legal  attainments,  and  years  of  practical  observation,  once  said 
of  Mr.  Harrison  :  "His  power  to  go  through  a  case  beats  any 
man's  I  ever  saw.  He  will  take  the  testimony  of  a  case  stretclv 
ing  over  days,  or  weeks,  and  \\  ill  sift  every  particle  of  e\  itlcnce 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  119 

pertaining  to  the  various  heads  to  which  it  belongs,  according 
to  the  points  or  plans  of  battle  he  has  laid  out.  Everything 
pro  and  con^  by  every  witness,  is  thus  grouped,  and  the  whole 
marshaled  in  order  —  as  one  might  say,  by  division,  brigade, 
regiment,  company,  and  all  bearing  down  on  the  assault." 
Said  another  lawyer  of  ability  and  experience,  concerning 
him  :  "  I  have  not  often  seen  Harrison  equaled  as  a  cross- 
examiner,  and  I  have  never  seen  but  one  instance  in  which  I 
thought  him  surpassed."  Another  witness  testifies:  "  He  is 
regarded  by  his  fellow-members  of  the  Indiana  bar,  irrespect- 
ive of  party,  as  a  judicious  counsellor,  an  able  advocate,  a 
keen  ci'oss-examiner,  and  a  man  of  indefatigable  industry.  He 
is  full  of  resource.  He  never  says  anything  imprudent  himself, 
but  he  is  quick  as  lightning  to  catch  at  the  imprudence  of  an 
opponent.  Yet,  with  all  his  skill,  he  has  never  been  accused 
of  unfairness."  The  testimony  of  his  partner,  Mr.  Miller, 
will  be  sufficient  to  complete  the  list:  "General  Harrison  is 
always  cool  and  level-headed.  He  never  loses  his  balance. 
He  is  always,  under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  self-pos- 
sessed and  of  unshaken  poise.  He  is  most  thorough  in  his  pre- 
paration, always  making  himself  complete  master  of  a  case. 
He  is  a  most  searching  and  efficient  cross-examiner,  and  yet  he 
is  always  quiet  and  pleasant,  as  if  in  ordinary  conversation. 
He  never  bull-dozes,  and  I  have  never  heard  of  a  witness  who 
called  him  discourteous." 

His  reputation  as  a  cross-examiner  is  merited.  It  is  said 
that  on  once  being  asked  by  a  student  to  define  the  theory  of 
cross-examination,  he  replied.  "  It  is  the  application  of  logic 
to  an  illogical  mind."     His  success  in  that  line,  therefore,  was 


I20  •       THE  LIFE  OF 

due,  not  to  the  entanglement  of  witnesses,  but  to  his  marking 
out  the  logical  lines,  and  so  hedging  them  about  that  witnesses 
would  be  compelled  to  follow  them. 

Instances  may  be  given,  showing  how  others  not  lawyers 
regarded  his  ability.  In  a  certain  case,  near  the  beginning  of 
his  practice,  he  was  opposed  by  a  number  of  old  and  able  law- 
yers. An  Irishman,  who  was  keenly  observing  the  trial,  said  : 
"  I  loike  that  little  Harrison.  He  has  so  many  ways.  When 
they  bate  '  im  wan  way,  he  bates  them  anoother  way  ;  and  they 
can't  cahner  '  im  at  all,  at  all !"  And  the  qualities  he  had 
when  a  young  lawyer,  he  now  manifested  in  a  greater  degree. 

A  poor  German  laborer  once  brought  a  case  to  Mr.  Harri- 
son, who  undertook  it  for  him,  carried  it  through  several  trials, 
and  on  the  appeal  of  the  opposition  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
won  it  there  ;  all  at  great  expense  of  time  and  money.  The 
German  paid  the  fee  as  agreed  ;  and  Mr.  Harrison  was  satis- 
fied. But  the  client,  who  was  a  cabinet-maker,  built  a  very 
costly  book-case  and  presented  it  to  his  lawyer,  in  testimony 
of  his  appreciation  of  his  ability  and  his  gratefulness  for  what 
had  been  done  for  him. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  cases  of  the  period  now  under 
considerattion,  was  what  was  known  as  the  "Mulligan  Case.  " 
The  plaintiff  had  been  charged  with  treason,  brought  before  a 
military  commission,  tried  and  acquitted.  They  then  brought 
suit  for  damages  in  the  United  States  Court.  But  they  found 
opposed  to  them,  conducting  the  defense  for  the  State,  General 
Harrison,  who,  by  his  manner  of  conducting  it,  and  especially 
his  great  speech  on  May  22,  1871,  cut  down  their  "  damages  " 
to  one  cent  and  costs. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  121 

But  perhaps  a  more  noted  case  was  that  of  Nancy  E.  Clem, 
which  began  the  same  year.  This  woman  had  deliberately 
plotted  and  cairied  out  the  murder  of  a  man  named  Young, 
under  circumstances  of  the  most  horrifying  barbarity,  but  also 
of  some  mystery.  vShe  had  accomplished  this  murder  in  1868, 
at  a  lonely  place  called  Cold  Spring,  not  far  from  Indianapolis. 
On  the  second  indictment,  on  which  Mr.  Harrison  was  called 
for  the  prosecution,  the  defense  pleaded  acquittal  on  the 
former  indictment,  but  the  State  demurred,  the  demurrer  was 
sustained,  and  the  defendant  pleaded  not  guilty,  and  filed  an 
exception.  As  a  result  of  this,  and  several  subsequent  trials, 
through  the  efforts  of  General  Harrison,  she  was  sentenced  for 
life  to  the  State  prison. 

By  a  change  of  venue,  the  case  was  taken  from  Marion  to 
Boone  County,  and  tried  at  Lebanon  before  Judge  Davidson. 
This  circumstance,  with  others  attending  it,  and  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  murder,  and  the  plea  of  former  acquittal, 
made  this,  perhaps,  the  most  celebrated  murder  case  Indiana 
ever  had. 

An  incident  of  the  first  trial  shows  what  complete  mastery 
Mr.  Harrison  always  had  of  his  subjects,  how  he  took  his 
cases  thoroughly  in  hand,  how  he  knew  confidently  from  the 
first  the  winning  course,  and  how,  in  this  case,  he  manifested 
a  tact  and  shrewdness  far  beyond  those  of  one  lawyer  of  much 
larger  experience,  and  at  that  time  of  greater  reputation  — 
Daniel  W.  Voorhees.  In  stating  the  case.  Lawyer  Harrison 
boldly^outlined  the  whole  theory  of  the  prosecution.  In  this 
he  manifested  such  apparent  lack  of  policy,  and  so  apparently 


122  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

put  the  case  in  the  hands  of  the  defense,  that  Mr.  Voorhees 
was  highly  elated. 

"  Harrison  is  a  very  able  lawyer,"  said  INIr.  Voorhees, 
"  but  he  is  ovei--rated.  He  has  laid  himself  open  here  —  given 
his  case  away  in  the  start."  ^ 

"Don't  be  too  sure,"  was  the  reply  of  a  friend.  "He 
knows  what  he  is  about." 

"  You  will  see,"  said  Mr.  Voorhees. 

But  the  case  went  on,  and  Mr.  Harrison  listened  carefully 
to  the  masterly  speech  of  Mr.  Voorhees,  and  took  notes. 
When  he  arose  for  the  closing  argument,  he  took  these  points, 
one  by  one,  and  exposed  them  in  the  light  of  the  theory  of  the 
prosecution  which  he  had  been  so  careful  to  state.  This  was 
another  time  in  his  life  when  Mr.  Harrison  taught  Mr.  Voor- 
hees, to  that  gentleman's  cost,  that  Mr.  Voorhees  had  far 
ujider-rated  Mr.  Harrison. 

There  was  at  one  time  a  noted  and  very  important  case 
before  the  United  States  Court  at  Chicago.  Associated  with 
Mr.  Harrison  in  the  case  was  George  Hoadly,  recently  the 
governor  of  Ohio.  On  account  of  being  compelled  to  leave, 
Mr.  Harrison  had  the  privilege  of  the  first  speech,  which  he 
delivered,  and  immediately  after  which  he  retired  from  the 
court-room.  Mr, Hoadly  then  withdrew  from  the  argument, 
signifying  that  Mr.  Harrison  had  so  thoroughly  done  the  work 
that  nothing  more  in  that  line  was  necessary. 


Chapter  IX. 


VICTORY  IN    DEFEAT. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF    1S76 THE    NATIONAL    CANDIDATES BEFORE    AND 

AFTER     THE     CRISIS    OF     1S73  THE    CAMPAIGN    IN     INDIANA THE 

CORRUPTION  FUND  —  THE  STATE  TICKET A  CHANGE  —  A  POPULAR 

DEMAND — TASK  NO  OTHER  COULD  FILL AN   ENERGETIC  CANVASS 

INCIDENTS "COME    ON,    BOYS  !  " THE    RESULT    A    VICTORY    IN 

DEFEAT  — ACQUAINTANCE     IN     THE    STATE — IN   DEMAND    FOR   THE 
GENERAL    CAMPAIGN. 

In  1875,  the  friends  of  General  Harrison  began  to  urge  him 
to  make  the  race  for  governor  of  Indiana  the  following  year. 
In  answer  to  a  letter  from  the  Honorable  L.  M.  Campbell, 
insisting  that  the  State  had  claims  upon  him,  and  asking  that 
he  permit  his  name  to  be  used,  he  wrote  the  following  reply, 
which  shows  not  only  the  lack  of  office-seeking  qualities  in 
him,  but  his  patriotism  : 

Honorable  L.  M.  Campbell,  Danville,  Ind. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Your  letter  of  the  25th  ultimo  has  remained 
unanswered  until  now  for  want  of  earlier  leisure.  After  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  matter  in  every  view  in  which  it  has  presented  itself, 
I  have  arrived  at  this  conclusion,  viz.  :  To  decline  to  allow  mj  name 
to  go  before  the  convention  in  connection  with  the  nomination  for 
governor.  In  announcing  this  conclusion,  1  have  only  one  regret,  and 
that  is  the  temporary  disappointment  of  some  very  warm  personal 
friends,  among  the  oldest  and  most  partial  of  whom  I  reckon  yourself. 
To  these,  and  to  the  somewhat  wider  circle  of  political   friends   who 


124  THE  LIFE  OF 

have  with  great  kindness  urged  me  to  be  a  candidate,  I  feel  under  a 

very  real  obligation.     Some  of  the  reasons  which  have  led  me  to  this 

conclusion  are  already  known  to  jou.     I  need  only  say  here  that  my 

personal  affairs  are  not  in  a  situation  to  make  it  wise  for  me  to  abandon 

the  pursuit  of  my  profession  to  engage  in  such  a  canvass.     You  will 

not  think  that  I  am  without  a  proper  sense  of  public  obligation,   or 

devoid  of  interest  in  the    success   of    the    Republican  party.     If  any 

should    so   think,  the  time    I   have  given   to  the  public   service,   and 

the  humble  part  I  have  taken  in  every  political  campaign  since  i860, 

must  witness  for  me.     In  everj'  important  campaign  which  our   State 

convention  will  inaugurate,  I   hope  to  have  some  part;  but  you  must 

allow  me  to  follow,  not  to  lead. 

It   could    hardly   be    possible  that  the  party  who  has  rejected   the 

greatest  idea  of  our  immortal  declaration  —  the  equality  of  all  men 

before  the  law  —  and  has  denied  the  right  to  preserve  by  force  the 

national   unity,  will,   in   this   year  of   great   memories,   be  called   to 

administer  our  national  affairs. 

'     Please   accept    for  yourself,  and  for  all  those  who  have  united  in 

your  request,  my  thanks  and  good  wishes. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

Benjamin  Harrison. 
Indianapolis,  December  i,  1875. 

The  year  of  1876  was,  in  many  I'espects,  a  most  remarkable 
political  year.  The  candidates  for  the  national  offices  were, 
on  the  Republican  side,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  and  William  A. 
Wheeler ;  and  on  the  Democratic  side,  Samuel  J.  Tilden  and 
Thomas  A.  Hendricks.  In  addition,  there  was  a  Greenback 
ticket  with  General  J.  B.  Weaver  for  President,  and  Samuel 
Carey  for  Vice-President. 

The  Greenback  movement  in  the  West  was  very  strong  that 
year ;  and  it  was  drawing  most  of  its  voters  from  the  Repub- 
lican ranks.    There  was  great  fear  that  the  proposed  resump- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  125 

tion  of  specie  payment  would  bring  disaster  upon  the  country. 
It  was  at  a  time  of  great  financial  depression  —  one  of  the 
closing  years  of  gloom  following  the  financial  crash  of  1873. 
The  excitement  in  Indiana  was  especially  great.  It  was  also 
the  year  preceding  the  great  strikes  and  the  riots,  that 
threatened  destruction  to  railroad  and  other  property,  and  even 
to  the  lives  of  peaceful  citizens  ;  and  already,  the  designing 
mob-leaders  were  fanning  the  flames  of  discontent,  while 
unfortunate  hot-headed  men,  more  innocent  than  the  leaders, 
were  suffering  themselves  to  be  drawn  into  the  vortex  of  law- 
lessness. 

Some  special  facts  in  connection  with  this  state  of  things, 
deserve  to  be  mentioned  here,  in  order  that  certain  influences 
of  the  campaign  may  be  accounted  for.  The  years  immediately 
preceding  the  great  panic  were  years  of  enormous  speculation 
in  Indiana.  Hundreds,  and  even  thousands,  of  men  who  had 
never  before  considered  it  a  moral  business,  were  drawn  into 
the  whirl  of  excitement,  and  began  to  speculate  on  a  larger  or 
smaller  scale.  Fortunes  were  made  and  lost  in  a  day.  Thousands 
and  millions  of  dollars  changed  hands  with  great  rapidity. 
Poor  men  entered  the  list  "  for  homes,"  and  being  caught  by 
excitement  in  the  first  blush  of  success,  were  carried  into  the 
life  they  had  always  condemned. 

Indianapolis  was  the  centre  of  the  craze  —  for  a  craze  it  was. 
Property  rose  to  unheard-of  values  in  an  hour.  Suburbs 
sprang  up,  as  if  in  a  night ;  and  one  looked  out  in  the  morning, 
and  where  there  had  been  desolate  soil,  or  fine  pastures  where 
quiet  farmers  grazed  their  cattle,  there  were  now  fine  mansions 
and  fine  villages,  in  successful  imitation  of  the  noted  suburbs 


126  THE  LIFE  OF 

of  the  oldest  cities  in  the  land.  The  population  of  Indian- 
apolis ran  ujd  from  48,000  to  more  than  a  hundred  thousand. 
Workmen  came  in  on  every  train,  from  every  part  of  the  State, 
and  there  vv^as  always  a  demand  for  more  of  them,  and  all  at 
high  wages.  Workmen  of  the  city  and  elsewhere  became 
independent,  ceased  to  work,  and  began  to  speculate  and  imi- 
tate the  social  grandeeism  of  those  who,  from  below,  they  had 
always  condemned.  All  prices  of  real  estate  were  fictitious, 
but  few  engaged  in  the  speculations  believed  it,  and  those  few 
promised  warning  friends  that  they  would  cease  the  business 
when  this  one  more  trade  was  consummated,  for  it  was  about 
to  bring  them  into  independence  —  then  the  crash  might  come  ; 
they  would  be  secure.  But  though  the  independence  came,  the 
fever  for  ventures  would  not  allay,  and  they  plunged  in  again. 
So  it  continued  until  1S73,  and  even  later.  In  that  year  the 
crisis  came. 

One  case  will  illustrate  the  situation  then  :  A  man  with  good 
sense  and  moral  and  Christian  principles,  and,  withal,  a  good 
business  man,  having  some  money,  invested  in  real  estate,  and 
sold  and  found  himself  rich.  He  thcn  purchased  a  beautiful 
tract  in  a  fine  suburb.  The  tract  consisted  of  several  acres,  in 
which  were  fruit  trees,  a  grove  of  maples,  and  a  large  house  of 
just  the  home-like  style  to  suit  him.  It  was  all  most  beautiful, 
indeed.  He  paid  for  it  $16,000,  and  determined  to  keep  it 
always  for  a  homestead,  while  he  used  other  money  for  specu- 
lation. So  he  moved  his  family,  and  felt  at  home.  Then  he 
took  the  sum  he  had  remaining,  and  invested  in  other  real 
estate  ;  and  being  a  shrewd  man,  he  increased  his  wealth  at 
every  turn.     At  last,  in  one  venture,  he  invested  all  he  had. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  127 

except  his  homestead  ;  and  the  investment  was  a  large  one,  for 
the  man  was  now  independent.     But  then  the  crash  came. 

He  saw  his  danger  and  tried  to  avert  it.  With  three  thou- 
sand dollars  he  could  make  his  "  turn,"  and  save  his  money, 
and  "come  out  ahead."  But  the  panic  had  struck  everywhere, 
and  he  could  not  borrow  anything.  He  had  but  one  resource 
—  to  mortgage  his  homestead.  This  he  did  —  for  three  thou- 
sand dollars  —  and  he  sank  that.  He  came  out  with  nothing, 
and  worse,  for  he  was  in  debt.  He  finally  succeeded  in  bor- 
rowing seven  hundred  dollars  from  a  friend,  with  which  to  set 
up  in  his  old  trade.  And  so  he  began  life  anew,  when  nearly 
fifty  years  of  age. 

This  was  only  one  case  in  a  thousand.  This  man  became  a 
Greenbacker ;  for  most  of  those  who  suffered  at  that  time, 
either  laid  the  blame  at  the  door  of  the  government,  or  felt  that 
"fiat"  money,  to  take  the  place  of  that  w^hich,  being  with- 
drawn from  them  by  the  shrewder  capitalists,  lay  in  Eastern 
vaults,  would  relieve  them.  Those  who  had  property  could 
not  sell  it.  Huge  mansions  were  occupied  rent  free,  for  the 
taking  care  of  them.  Others  that  had  cost  many  thousand  dol- 
lars in  building  were  rented  at  a  few  dollars  a  month.  The 
great  mass  of  workingmen  who  had  moved  into  Indianapolis, 
were  out  of  work.  Many  of  them,  having  sold  their  farms 
and  bought  homes  in  the  city,  now  found  themselves  with 
nothing  to  bring  an  income,  and  unable  to  get  back  what  they 
had  paid  for  city  "  homes." 

The  discontent  that  followed  may  be  imagined.  Bread  ! 
bread  !  bread  !  became  the  cry  everywhere.  Everything  was 
in  confusion.     Men  who  had  been  respectable   men   in   their 


128  THE  LIFE  OF 

homes  in  other  parts  of  the  State,  were  now  so  excited  and 
exasperated  that  they  talked  about  burning  and  revenge  ;  and 
when  the  strike  of  1S77  came  on,  they  declared  they  did  not 
blame  the  rioters,  and  would  not  if  they  burnt  the  city.  It  was 
easy  for  men  in  that  condition  of  mind  to  say  and  do  and 
believe  what  they  would  not  in  calmer  moods. 

The  crisis  of  1S73  spread  its  baneful  influence  everywhere. 
Not  only  speculators,  but  honest  business  men  and  honest 
farmers,  suffered.  Hence,  the  Democrats  who  had  been  com- 
plainers  and  fault-finders  since  i860,  found  a  good  field  in 
Indiana  for  sowing  pernicious  slander  and  accusation.  They 
charged  the  condition  of  things  upon  Republican  blundering, 
intriguing,  and  what  not ;  and  they  found  many  disposed  to 
believe  them.  Through  influences  like  this  they  carried  the 
State  by  a  large  majority  in  1874;  and,  notwithstanding  they 
had  accomplished  nothing  in  two  years,  they  still  used  the  cry 
of  corruption  against  the  general  government,  and  their 
prospects  were  as  good  as  before. 

No  great  party  ever  started  into  a  campaign  with  so  few 
assurances  of  success  as  did  the  Republican  party  into  the  cam- 
paign of  1876.  To  add  to  their  great  embarrassment,  they  had 
alienated  a  large  element  by  their  passing  a  local  option  law  in 
1S73  —  a  measure  they  did  not  regret,  by  any  means,  but  one 
for  which  they  suffered.  It  was  natural  for  them  to  turn,  now, 
to  a  strong  man,  on  desiring  a  candidate  for  governor  of  the 
State  ;  and  as  they  knew  Mr.  Harrison's  record  and  opinions 
and  strength,  and  trusted  him  implicitly,  they  asked  him  to 
take  the  helm.  But  when  he  wrote  the  disappointing  letter, 
already  given,  they  turned  to  another. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  129 

The  choice  now  fell  on  Godlove  S.  Orth,  who  was  very 
popular  in  the  State,  especially  among  the  alienated  Germans, 
—  as  he  was  himself  a  German.  Mr.  Orth  had  served  several 
terms  in  Congress,  and  was  at  that  time  minister  to  Austria. 
His  nomination  was,  therefore,  well  received,  and  the  Repub- 
licans started  out  with  enthusiasm,  in  spite  of  the  odds  against 
them.  Yet,  for  a  time,  it  looked  as  if  they  might  gain  back 
what  they  had  lost.  Their  candidate  for  lieutenant-governor 
was  the  Honorable  Robert  Robertson. 

Mr.  Harrison  bore  his  share  of  the  work,  but,  as  he  had 
told  the  committee,  "  his  personal  affairs  were  not  in  a  situation 
to  make  it  wise  for  him  to  abandon  the  pursuit  of  his  profes- 
sion," and  he  was  much  of  the  time  in  the  court-room.  He  had 
always  been  a  hard  worker,  and  free  from  doubtful  methods  of 
earning  his  living.  He  was  yet  comparatively  poor,  and  it 
became  him  still  to  work. 

The  campaign  went  on,  and  on  the  part  of  the  Republicans 
everything  was  energy  and  enthusiasm.  The  Democrats, 
also,  were  exerting  every  power  to  hold  their  ground  of  two 
years  before  ;  and,  so  far  as  human  eye  could  see,  they  had 
everything  on  their  side.  In  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  they  had 
a  far-seeing,  shrewd,  and  able  leader.  They  had  unlimited 
supplies  of  money.  Their  candidate  for  governor  was  James 
D.  Williams,  a  farmer,  nominated  with  a  shrewd  political  cal- 
culation that  the  farmers  must  play  the  most  important  part  in 
that  campaign.  They  were  not  slow  in  making  the  fight  a 
personal  one,  and  engaging  in  personal  abuse. 

In  this  connection,  the  Democrats  revived  an  old  scandal 
against   Mr.    Orth,    connecting    him   dishonorably   with   the 


I30  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

Venezuela  claims.  They  knew  that  the  charges  against  him 
were  false,  and  that  a  Democratic  committee  of  Congress  had 
so  pronounced  them.  Nevertheless,  they  knew  the  power  of 
the  cry  of  "  fraud"  in  Indiana,  especially  at  that  time.  Soon 
every  Democratic  paper  was  teeming  with  the  accusation,  and 
the  Democratic  stump  speakers  repeated  it  again  and  again 
before  the  people.  It  would  before  long  have  produced  the 
effect  of  surfeiting,  as  such  scandals  urged  always  do,  had  not 
the  Republican  managers  done  a  very  unfortunate  thing  — 
caused  Mr.  Orth  to  withdraw  from  the  contest,  thus  at  once 
producing  that  uncertain  feeling  that  such  an  implied  ackowl- 
edgment  always  does,  showing  injustice  to  Mr.  Orth,  and 
alienating  the  large  German  vote  of  the  State  as  well  as  all  the 
rest  of  Mr.  Orth's  friends. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  at  that  time  out  of  the  State,  and  knew 
nothing  of  what  was  going  on  at  the  Republican  headquar- 
ters in  Indiana.  While  he  was  on  his  way  home  shortly  after- 
wards, he  saw  an  account  of  the  affair  in  a  Chicago  paper, 
and  with  it  the  astounding  statement  that  his  own  name  had 
been  placed  at  the  head  of  the  ticket  in  place  of  that  of  ]Mr. 
Orth.  He  returned  home,  and  severely  criticised  the  committee 
for  its  action,  not  only  on  account  of  the  lack  of  good  pol- 
icy in  them,  but  also  on  account  of  the  injustice  to  Mr.  Orth 
and  his  friends.  He  predicted  thorough  defeat.  He  at  first 
refused  to  accept  the  place  at  the  head  of  the  ticket ;  but  at  last, 
at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  friends,  and  considering  that 
his  withdrawal  would  make  the  defeat  of  the  party  still  surer, 
by  precipitating  confusion,  and  perhaps  division,  he  consented 
to  lead  in  the  already  crippled  campaign.     But  it  was  a  most 


RUSSELL   B.   HARRISON,  OF   MONTANA, 

SON  OF  GENERAL  HARRISON. 
[From  a  Photograph  by  Sarony,  S,  y.] 


132  THE  LIFE  OF 

thankless  task,  under  the  circumstances.  It  was  only  six 
weeks  until  the  election  ;  the  population  of  Indiana  was  largely 
agricultural ;  farmers  were  busy  on  their  farms  ;  the  State  was 
large  ;  there  were  ninety-two  counties  to  thoroughly  canvass  ; 
and  there  was  as  much  to  undo  as  there  was  to  do. 

The  evidence  of  a  corruption  fund  in  the  campaign  of  1S76 
on  the  part  of  the  Democrats,  is  well-known.  The  chairman 
of  their  National  Committee  was  W.  H.  Barnum.  Their 
methods  that  year  were  what  they  have  been  since.  But  "  cor- 
ruption funds  "  may  be  used  in  various  ways,  and  often  honest 
people  are  beguiled  by  promises  and  glittering  hopes  whose 
origin  is  under  cover. 

There  never  was  a  greater  field  for  this  kind  of  work  than 
Indiana  was  in  1876.  Let  "  high  living,"  "extravagance," 
"  misuse  of  public  funds,"  and  such  absurdities  be  charged  upon 
the  Republican  administration,  while  the  people  feel  the  terri- 
ble depression  of  the  times  ;  let  it  be  stated  that  these  things 
brought  on  the  hard  times  ;  let  the  Democratic  stump  speakers 
reiterate  these  statements  at  every  cross-roads  in  the  State  ;  let 
papers  with  these  falsehoods  in  them  be  circulated  everywhere  ; 

—  then  let  promises  be  held  out  of  reform,  of  replenished 
pocket-books  through  better  administration,  and  the  Democrats 
will  have  formidable  weapons  to  fight  with  at  such  a  time. 
All  this  requires  money. —  money  spent  to  circulate  falsehoods 

—  and  that  is  corruption  in  itself.  But  that  is  by  far  the  least 
unrighteous  of  methods  of  using  "  corruption  funds"  ;  and 
Indiana  was  a  ripe  field  for  worse  ones.  The  seed  was 
well  sown. 

Against  Air.  Harrison  and  Mr.  Robertson  were  pitted  James 
D.  Williams  and  Isaac  P.  Gray.     The  former  was  a  "farmers' 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  133 

candidate,"  put  up  for  appealing  to  the  very  class  who,  through- 
out the  State,  felt  the  depression  most,  and  were  the  most  sus- 
picious on  account  of  it.  He  prided  himself  on  his  "  farmer- 
like "  appearance,  which  meant  more  to  the  Indiana  farmer 
in  those  times,  perhaps,  than  in  anytime  since,  or  even  before, 
subsequent  to  pioneer  days.  He  wore  a  suit  of  blue  jeans, 
even  on  public  occasions  ;  and  this  fact  was  boasted  of  over  the 
State.  He  became  to  the  Democratic  farmers,  and  perhaps, 
to  some  discontented  ones  not  Democrats,  a  sort  of  personal 
token  of  easier  times  ;  for  the  Republicans  were  believed  to  be 
spendthrifts,  and  the  authors  of  the  hard  times.  On  account 
of  this  suit,  and  the  use  that  could  be  made  of  it,  Mr.  Williams 
became  known  in  the  campaign  as  "  Blue  Jeans,"  and  this  be- 
came the  Democratic  watchword.  It  was  unwisely  given  by 
Republicans,  in  disgust,  at  first,  but  it  became  a  power  to  the 
Democrats,  through  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times. 

On  the  other  hand,  though  Mr.  Harrison  pursued  the  more 
honest  course  of  wearing  clothes  such  as  he  had  always  worn 
in  public,  with  no  reference  whatever  to  an  influence  in  the 
campaign,  and  never  thought  to  be  anybody  but  Benjamin 
Harrison,  the  Democrats  saw  fit,  in  order  to  give  "  Blue  Jeans" 
the  weight  of  the  full  meaning  they  desired  it  to  have  before 
the  people,  to  forge  a  contrast  wholly  misleading,  by  speaking 
of  the  Republican  candidate  as  arrayed  on  the  side  of  spend- 
thrifts, clothed  in  costly  garb,  a  representative  of  "  kid  glove 
aristocracy."  A  falser  accusation  was  never  couched  in  two 
words  than  was  implied  and  emphasized  in  the  words  "  Kid 
Gloves,"  applied  by  the  Democrats  to  Mr.  Harrison.  Wher- 
ever he  went,  the  delusion  was  thoroughly  dispelled  from  the 
minds  of  the  thousands  who  came  out  to  hear  him  speak,  and 


134  THE  LIFE  OF 

to  see  him.  A  plainer  man  they  seldom  found,  and  yet  he 
impreesed  every  one  as  a  thorough  gentleman  —  not  by  birth,  or 
wealth,  or  favoritism,  but  by  cultivation  and  true  character. 

Against  all  these  odds  he  entered  the  contest ;  but  as  in  for- 
mer campaigns  when  his  interests  were  at  stake,  he  forgot  his 
personal  interests  for  those  of  his  State  and  his  country.  He 
made  no  personal  allusions,  in  his  speeches  or  elsewhere,  to 
his  opponent  that  would  be  in  the  least  derogatoiy,  or  that 
would  show  that  he  felt  him  to  be  a  rival  for  honors.  He  set 
up  no  personal  pleas.  He  discussed  the  issues  of  the  cam- 
paign from  the  stand-point  of  Republican  principles.  His 
mind  was  wholly  taken  up  with  these.  He  seemed  to  feel 
the  necessity  of  their  defense  in  the  emergency  —  the  danger 
threatening  his  country  in  the  event  of  Democratic  success. 
The  spirit  of  the  days  of  the  great  crisis  was  upon  him.  He 
felt  that  Indiana  was  his  division,  and  that  he  must  lead  the 
Resaca  assault  in  October.  He. identified  himself  with  "  the 
boys  "  wherever  he  went  —  at  Fort  Wayne,  Richmond,  Greens- 
burg,  Lafayette,  Lebanon,  Danville,  Greencastle,  Terre  Haute, 
everywhere  —  as  in  the  days  of  1862,  '3,  '4,  and  '5.  In  these 
places  he  met  many  of  the  old  soldiers  who  had  fought  under 
him,  and  shared  his  glory  at  Resaca,  Peach  Tree  Creek, 
Atlanta,  and  Nashville. 

At  Lebanon,  where  he  spoke,  he  had  ah-eady  friends  who 
had  heard  him  during  the  Clem  trial ;  but  there  was  little  said 
afterwards  about  "Kid  Gloves  "by  those  who  listened  to  him 
for  the  first  time  on  that  day.  The  outline  of  his  speech  at 
Danville,  August  18,  was  given  by  thelnd'ianapoVis  Jour fza/  as 
follows  :  "  Personal  Matters  —  Democratic  Party  Should  Die 
—  Democracy   and    Rebellion  — '  The  Bloody    Shirt'  —  Til- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  135 

den  a  Secessionist  —  Mr.  Tilden  Predicts  the  Rebellion  —  Til- 
den  in  an  Unenviable  Light — No  Influence  for  the  Union  Cause 
—  Tilden  Responsible  for  the  Credit  Mobilier."  At  Greens- 
burg,  his  patriotic  and  martial  feelings  seemed  to  take  posses- 
sion of  him,  and  he  cried,"  Co?ne  on^  boys!"  And  the  old  sol- 
diers felt  like  following  him  again  to  the  rescue  of  their  country. 
The  result  of  this  energetic  canvass  was  a  victory —  such  as 
Washington  sometimes  gained  out  of  his  defeats.  Mr.  Harri- 
son was  not  elected,  but  he  gained  what  led  to  other  victories. 
The  enemy  were  crippled,  and  their  ranks  depleted  ;  their  ma- 
jority of  1S74  reduced  more  than  half.  But  his  own  county 
gave  him  a  large  majority,  and  that  showed  that  from  hence- 
forth he  was  their  recognized  leader.  The  Republican  ticket 
was  beaten  by  an  average  plurality  of  more  than  seven  thou- 
sand votes  ;  but  General  Harrison  was  beaten  by  a  plurality  of 
only  5,084.  The  total  vote  of  the  State  was  434,457  ;  and  there 
was  a  Greenback  vote  of  13,000.  The  following  shows  how 
he  compared  with  his  associate  candidates,  in  the  estimation 
of  the  people  : 

Harrison,  for  Governor,     .  ......  2o8,oSo 

Robertson,  for  Lieutenant-Governor, 206,641 

Watts,  for  Secretary  of  State, 206,774 

Harriott,  for  Treasurer,  .......  206,197 

Hess,  for  Auditor,       ,  .......  207,774 

Smith,  for  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  .         .  205,332 

Mr.  Harrison's  vote,  therefore,  was  i  ,536  above  the  average 
vote  of  the  other  five.  But  when  we  consider  that  the  com- 
bined vote  of  the  thirteen  congressmen  voted  for  by  Republi- 
cans was  only  204,419,  we  find  his  lead  of  his  ticket  to  be 
more  than  eighteen  hundred,  and  that  his  vote  was  3,664 
ahead  of  that  of  the  congressmen. 


136  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

But  this  personal  popularity  was  the  least  of  his  victories. 
By  his  organization  and  energetic  work  the  wliole  Republican 
vote  was  made  larger.  No  one  can  look  at  the  situation  as  it 
was  in  Indiana  that  year,  without  wondering  why  the  Repub- 
lican defeat  was  not  greater  than  it  was,  unless  Mr.  Harrison's 
work  be  taken  into  account.  The  Greenback  vote  must  cer- 
tainly have  been  larger  than  it  was,  had  it  not  been  for  him. 
The  Greenback  candidate  for  governor  withdrew,  however, 
in  favor  of  Mr.  Harrison,  which  operated  more  against  the 
Republicans  than  for  them,  for  the  cry  of  "  bargain  and  sale  " 
was  raised  by  the  Democrats,  and  thus  ]Mr.  Harrison's  hard 
task  was  apparently  increased.  Nevertheless,  the  vote  did  not 
all  go  to  the  Democrats  ;  and  more  of  it  would  have  been 
against  him  had  it  not  been  for  his  diligence.  But  Mr,  Har- 
rison's canvass  also  set  the  Republican  party  again  on  the  up- 
ward grade  toward  success.  It  turned  the  sinking  fortunes  of 
the  party.  It  restored  it  again  —  right  in  the  midst  of  troublous 
times  —  to  the  confidence  of  the  people. 

For  Mr.  Harrison  himself,  the  State  canvass  brought  in- 
creased popularity.  It  made  Indiana  aware  that  a  giant  was 
leading  Republican  hosts.  It  made  him  friends  throughout 
the  State  —  not  among  the  old  soldiers,  for  they  were  his 
friends  before,  but  among  farmers,  who,  in  spite  of  the  false 
impressions  "Blue  Jeans"  and  "Kid  Gloves"  had  given 
them,  knew  an  honest  man  when  they  saw  and  heard  him. 
He  also  became  acquainted  with  the  people,  their  ways  of 
thinking,  their  feelings,  and  their  wants.  He  was  now  in 
greater  demand  for  the  general  campaign,  in  spite  of  his 
apparent  October  defeat ;  and  right  roj^ally  did  he  lend  his 
services  until  November. 


Chapter  X. 


LAWYER  AND  POLITICIAN. 

A  LEADER  OF  THE  INDIANA    BAR THE    STRIKE    OF  1S77  ON    THE    SIDE 

OF    SYMPATHY  THE  CAMPAIGN    OF     187S CONTEST  WITH  GREEN- 
BACKERS  MEMBER     OF     THE     MISSISSIPPI     RIVER     COMMISSION  

AN    INDUSTRIAL    PARADE THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1880 THE    UNITED 

STATES  SENATE A    VIEW  OF    THE    LAWYER,   THE    POLITICIAN,  THE 

MAN. 

After  the  campaign,  Mr.  Harrison  quietly  resumed  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  just  as  if  he  had  not  won  for  himself 
additional  fame  during  his  absence. 

By  this  time  he  was  one  of  the  recognized  leaders  of  the  In- 
diana bar.  Had  he  been  as  Avell  known  by  the  people  in  his 
law  practice  as  he  now  was  in  his  political  life,  he  would  have 
been  considered  by  them  the  ablest  lawyer  in  the  State. 
Those,  however,  who  came  in  contact  with  him  knew  his 
ability,  and  were  not  slow  to  pronounce  judgment  as  to  his 
superiority  as  a  lawyer. 

The  year  of  1877  was  scarcely  ushered  in,  when  the  people 
in  many  of  the  states  began  to  be  uneasy  on  account  of  the 
mutterings  of  a  threatening  storm,  the  exact  nature  of  which 
no  one  could  tell.  The  feeling  had  existed  a  long  time  that 
things  could  not  remain  many  months  as  they  then  were.  For 
men  must  live,  though  manufacturers  and  other  employers 
might  give  them  nothing  to  do. 


138  THE  LIFE  OF 

There  were  many  who  were  now  suffering  that  had  brought 
their  troubles  upon  their  own  heads  in  the  manner  already- 
described.  But  there  were  thousands  of  others  who,  during 
all  tlie  "  flush  times,"  had  wrought  for  wages,  and  joined  not 
in  the  speculative  excitement  of  the  times.  They  were 
responsible  neither  for  gilded,  fictitious  prices,  nor  for  the  result 
that  came.  The  wealthy  were  responsible  for  It  all,  and  the 
poor  were  the  greatest  sufferers  when  the  crash  came.  Their 
complaints  were  now  well-founded,  whether  the  methods  that 
many  of  them  proposed  for  obtaining  justice  were  right  or 
not. 

A  simple,  but  terrible  problem  was  before  the  worklngmen, 
and  before  the  capitalists  as  well.  The  former  had  no  bread 
In  their  houses,  and  no  means  of  getting  any  ;  they  were  will- 
ing to  work,  but  no  man  hired  them  ;  they  must  live,  but  how  ? 
Employers  might  have  apparent  cause  for  reduction  of  wages, 
and  for  turning  workmen  away,  in  the  financial  depression. 
They  certainly  could  not  make  large  profits  while  demand 
was  low  and  wages  to  worklngmen  were  high.  Some  of 
them  might  lose.  But  living  was  high  —  strangely  —  and 
what  could  the  worklngmen  do?  To  employers — Individuals 
or  corporations  —  who  had  no  Interests  but  their  own,  who 
made  money  by  "salting  down"  the  piofits,  who  dealt  In 
margins  manipulated  by  themselves,  Init  trusted  nothing  to 
human  nature  in  society,  casting  no  "bread  upon  the  waters," 
the  problem  was  impossible  of  solution,  and  perhaps  without 
interest.  But  there  were  others  who  invested  in  the  charity 
of  letting  their  workmen  live,  even  thougli  they  themselves 
apparently  suffered,  and  the  returns  came  in  after  the  panic 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  139 

was  over.  There  were  others,  such  as  General  Harrison, 
who,  though  they  were  not  rich,  and  not  employers,  saw  the 
real  situation,  and  advised  for  the  suffering  classes. 

But  with  threats  of  violence  Mr.  Harrison  had  no  sympathy, 
although  he  appreciated  the  complaints.  In  the  first  place, 
the  leaders  in  such  outbreaks  were  seldom  the  honest  work- 
men. The  real  sufferers  were  generally  the  last  to  engage 
in  them,  if  they  ever  did.  In  the  next  place,  there  could  be 
no  relief  by  it.  Again,  it  was  morally  and  socially  wrong. 
Every  consideration  decreed  that  men  should  suffer  rather  than 
resort  to  violence. 

The  disturbance  began,  as  usual,  with  the  railroads.  It  broke 
out  on  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railroad  in  Maryland.  It  was 
not  long  until  nearly  all  the  roads  in  Pennsylvania  were 
involved.  Soon  the  trains  on  most  of  the  roads  in  Ohio  and 
Indiana  were  stopped.  On  the  2 2d  of  July,  which  was  Sun- 
day, a  riot  broke  out  in  Pittsbvu-g,  and  over  $4,000,000  worth 
of  property  "was  destroyed.  On  the  23d,  the  employes  of  the 
Vandalia,  and  the  Indianapolis,  Terre  Haute,  and  St.  Louis 
railroads  ceased  running  trains.  On  the  24th,  no  trains  of 
any  kind  were  permitted  to  leave  Indianapolis,  except  mail 
trains.  The  strikers  took  possession  of  the  Union  Depot. 
The  people  of  the  city  were  trembling  lest  the  scenes  of  Pitts- 
burg should  be  repeated.  The  peculiar  situation,  already 
described,  made  such  an  outbreak  especially  to  be  dreaded. 
There  were  too  many  unemployed  workingmen  of  all  classes. 
In  the  extremity  the  following  proclamation  was  issued  by 
the  mayor : 


140  THE  LIFE  OF 

Indianapolis,  July  24,  1877. 

To  THE  Lav-abiding  Citizens  of  Indianapolis  : 

You  are  requested  to  meet  en  masse  in  front  of  the  new  court  house, 

on  Washington   Street,  this  evening  at  7.30  P.  M.,  to  counsel    as  to 

measures  for  the  public  safety.     Let  your  numbers  be  so  large,  and  the 

addresses  of  such  a  character,  that  it  will  be  demonstrated  that  the 

people  of  this  city  are  on  the  side  of  law  and  order.     Measures   for 

organization    for    the    protection    of    life    and    property  will    also    be 

adopted. 

Mayor  Cavin. 

The  meeting  was  largely  attended  by  all  parties.  Addresses 
were  made  by  prominent  Democrats  and  Republicans.  A 
Committee  of  Public  Safety  was  appointed.  One  of  the 
leaders  of  this  movement  was  Senator  Joseph  E.  McDonald, 
and  he  was  on  the  committee  with  many  other  Democrats  and 
many  Republicans.  Political  lines  were  forgotten  in  the  com- 
mon peril. 

Another  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of  "  ten  of 
the  most  prudent  that  could  be  selected,  to  confer  with  the 
committee  of  strikers  in  a  friendly  spirit,  and  ascertain  just 
what  their  demands  are,  and  what  they  propose  to  do,  also  to 
consult  with  officials  of  the  various  roads  and  see  what  their 
determination  is."  It  was  the  purpose  of  this  committee  to 
see  if  concessions  could  not  be  made  on  both  sides,  and  if 
measures  could  not  be  adopted  to  which  both  could  agree,  and 
the  troubles  be  ended.  To  this  committee  belonged  such  men 
as  Governor  James  D.  Williams,  Franklin  Landers  (afterwards 
Democratic  candidate  for  governor),  Benjamin  Plarrison, 
Albert  G.  Porter,  Mayor  Cavin,  and  others.  They  met  the 
followinsr  afternoon  at  the  council  chamber.     The  committee 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  141 

sent  by  the  strikers  was  W.  H.  Sayre,  Grand  Secretary  of  the 
Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers.  One  of  the  leading 
dailies,  the  Indianapolis  J^ourfzal,  made,  in  reporting  the  meet- 
ing, the  following  statements  : 

"  General  Harrison  made  an  eloquent  and  logical  speech  of 
some  length,  replete  with  legal  lore  and  sound  good  sense. 
He  counselled  obedience  to  the  law,  but  at  the  same  time 
strongly  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  wages  as  stated  were 
too  low,  and  desired  very  much  that  they  should  be  raised. 
He  was  willing  to  use  his  influence  with  those  in  authority,  in 
favor  of  this  desired  increase." 

On  account  of  the  disasters  to  travel  and  business  that  were 
following  in  the  wake  of  the  strike,  as  well  as  the  danger  to 
property  and  life,  the  continued  anxiety  and  suspense,  it  was 
hard  for  such  sentiments  as  these  to  find  much  favor  at  first 
with  the  citizens.  Violence  was  already  committed  about  the 
depots.  On  the  26th,  another  meeting  of  citizens  was  called. 
General  John  Coburn  was  made  chairman.  On  taking  the 
chair,  he  said  that  they  must  provide  measures  to  protect 
themselves,  their  neighbors,  and  their  rights.  There  was 
danger  to  property,  peace,  and  personal  safety.  They  could 
not  wait  longer  for  the  settlement  of  the  troubles  by  those  who 
began  them.  They  must  prevent  riots.  Peace,  good  order, 
and  life,  must  not,  and  should  not  be  endangered  there.  Such 
was  the  temper  of  that  meeting.  The  sentiments  were  echoed 
by  such  men  as  Major  Gordon,  Judge  Newton,  and  Judge 
Gresham.  Hence  it  was,  that  General  Harrison's  counsel  of 
the  day  before  could  not  prevail.  Nevertheless,  he  was  will- 
ing to  do  anything  that  was  lawful  and  right  to  put  a   stop  to 


142  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  difficulties  and  dangers  that  existed.  He  could  be  depended 
on  for  this,  in  any  case. 

Judge  Gresham  made  a  motion  that  a  committee  be  ap- 
pointed to  confer  with  the  committee  appointed  at  the  meeting 
at  the  court  house.  That  conference  met,  and  the  result  was 
the  reorganization  of  the  Committee  of  Public  Safety,  as 
follows  :  General  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  Joseph  E.  McDonald, 
General  Benjamin  Harrison,  Honorable  Conrad  Baker,  Gen- 
eral John  Love,  General  T.  A.  Morris,  and  General  Daniel 
McCauley.  This  committee  was  to  act  with  the  mayor,  and 
many  citizens  enrolled  their  names  for  service  vmder  the  com- 
mittee. 

This  reorganization  of  the  Committee  of  Safet}^  was  due  to 
the  proclamation  of  Governor  Williams,  who,  though  during 
the  campaign  could  make  speeches  against  "  moneyed  classes," 
"  capital,"  "  manufacturers,"  and  talk  about  the  opj^rcssed 
wage-worker,  was  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  and  spoke  out  in 
no  conciliating  nor  flattering  terms.  The  following  is  the 
proclamation  : 


iNT.   j 


The  State  of  Indiana, 
Executive  Departme: 
A  Proclainatioii  by  the  Governor  Relative  to  Certain  Disturbances  of  the 

Peace  by  Striki?!^  Employes  of  the  Raiload  Companies. 
To  THE  People  of  Indiana  : 

Many  disaffected  emplojds  of  raih-oad  companies  doing  business  in 
this  State  have  renounced  their  employment  because  of  alleged  griev- 
ances, and  have  conspired  to  enforce  their  demands  by  detaining  trains 
of  their  late  employers,  seizing  and  controlling  their  property,  intimi- 
dating their  managers,  prohibiting  by  violence  their  attempts  to  con- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  143 

duct  their  business,  and  driving  away  passengers  and  freight  offered 
for  transportation.     The  peace  of  all  the  community  is  seriously  dis- 
turbed by  those  lawless  acts.     Every  class  of  society  is  made  to  suffer. 
The  comfort  and  happiness  of  many  families,  not  parties  to  the  griev- 
ance, are  sacrificed.     A  controversy  which  belongs  to  our  courts,  or  to 
the  province  of  peaceful  arbitration  or  negotiation,  is  made  the  excuse 
for  an  obstruction  of  trade  and  travel  over  the  chartered   commercial 
highways  of  our  State.     The  commerce  of  the  entire  country  is  inter- 
fered with,  and  the  reputation  of  our  community  is  threatened  with 
dishonor  among  our  neighbors.     This  disregard  of  law  and  the  rights 
and  privileges  of  our  citizens,  and  those  of  sister  States,  cannot  be 
tolerated.     The    machinery   provided    by   law    for   the    adjustment   of 
private  grievances  must  be  used   as  the  only  resort  against  debtors, 
individual  or  corporate.     The  process  of  civil  remedies,  as  well  as  the 
penalties  of  the  criminal  code  must  be  executed  equally  in  each  case. 
To  the  end  that  the  existing  combination  be  dissolved   and  destroyed 
in  its  lawless  form,  I  invoke  the  aid  of  all  the  law-abiding  citizens  of 
our  State.     I  ask    that    they  denounce   and   condemn    this   infraction 
of  public  order,  and  endeavor  to  dissuade   these  offenders  against  the 
peace  and  dignity  of  our  State  from  further  acts  of  lawlessness. 

To  the  judiciary  I  appeal  for  the  prompt  and  rigid  administration  of 
justice  in  proceedings  of  this  nature. 

To  the  sheriffs  of  the  several  counties  I  commend  a  careful  study  of 
the  duties  imposed  upon  them  by  statute,  which  they  have  sworn  to 
discharge.  I  admonish  each  to  use  the  full  power  of  his  county  in  the 
preservation  of  order  and  the  suppression  of  breaches  of  the  peace, 
assuring  them  of  my  hearty  cooperation,  with  the  power  of  the  State 
at  my  command   when  satisfied  that  occasion  requires  its  exercise. 

To  those  who  have  arrayed  themselves  against  the  Government  and 
are  subverting  law  and  order  and  the  best  interests  of  society  by  the 
waste  and  destruction  of  property,  the  derangement  of  trains,  and 
the  ruin  of  all  classes  of  labor,  I  appeal  for  an  immediate  abandon- 
ment of  their  unwise  and  unlawful  confederation.     I  convey  to  them 


144  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  voice  of  the  law,  which  thej  cannot  afford  to  disregard.  I  trust 
that  its  admonition  maybe  so  promptly  heeded  that  a  resort  to  extreme 
measures  will  be  unnecessary,  and  that  the  authority  of  the  law  and 
the  dignity  of  the  State,  against  which  they  have  so  grievously 
offended,  may  be  restored  and  duly  respected  hereafter. 

Given  at  Indianapolis,  this  twenty-sixth  day  of  July,  1S77. 

Witness  the  seal  of  the  State,  and  the  signature  of  the  Governor. 

James  D.   Williams. 

The  citizen  volunteer  forces  were  organized  under  various 
leaders,  not  the  least  of  whom  were  Generals  Gresham  and 
Harrison.  General  Gresham  had  his  barracks  at  the  district 
court  room.  General  Harrison's  company  was  detailed  to 
the  protection  of  the  United  States  Armory,  in  which  were 
300,000  Springfield  rifles,  with  ammunition.  Here  was  one 
effectual  method  of  preventing  much  blood- shed  —  to  prevent 
the  rioters  from  securing  arms.  General  Harrison  put  the 
place  in  a  condition  of  defense. 

Governor  Williams  had  decided  to  appoint  General  Harri- 
son commander  of  the  whole  volunteer  forces.  This  was  at 
the  instance  of  the  committee.  But  General  Harrison  de- 
clined to  accept,  saying  that  he  was  already  captain  of  one 
company.  Some  hot-headed  friends  wished  him  to  march 
out  against  the  rioters  and  give  them  a  lesson  of  powder  and 
ball.  He  answered:  "I  don't  propose  to  go  out  and  shoot 
down  my  neighbors,  unless  it  is  positively  necessary  to  do  so 
in  order  to  uphold  the  law."  He  used  his  utmost  endeavors 
to  bring  about  a  reconciliation,  and  a  peaceful  settling  of  the 
dispute.  His  whole  course  during  tliose  terrible  days 
showed  both  the  qualities  of  the  accomplished  general    and 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  145 

the  faithful  citizen.  It  would  not  have  been  hard  to  have  shot 
down  hundreds  of  rioters,  but  there  would  have  been  no 
bravery  in  it.  General  Harrison  had  taken  not  a  step,  per- 
formed not  an  act,  during  the  Rebellion  that  was  not  for  the 
preservation  of  the  Union  ;  he  now  chose  to  do  nothing  that 
was  not  necessary  to  defend  his  State  and  home. 

At  last  the  strike  was  ended  ;  and  apprehension  as  to  danger 
ceased.  Then  came  the  trial  of  200  of  the  unfortunate  men, 
who,  though  having  committed  a  great  wrong,  yet  had  struck 
for  bread.  These  200  had  been  arrested  for  hindering  the 
operation  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  railroad.  vSentence. 
was  passed  upon  them  of  ninety  days'  imprisonment. 

But  General  Harrison  went  to  the  judge  and  begged  for 
their  release.  He  showed  that  the  object  of  prosecuting  them 
had  now  been  accomplished,  that  they  had  learned  that  it 
would  not  do  to  violate  law  and  order.  He  thus  succeeded  in 
procuring  their  release,  and  thus  he  won  the  warm  gratitude 
and  friendship  of  those  strikers. 

After  that  time,  Mr.  Harrison  had  frequent  cases  before  the 
courts,  wherein  the  railroads  were  defendants  and  his  clients 
plaintiffs.  He  was  seldom  counsel  for  any  road  in  such  a 
case.  About  ten  years  before  this,  he  had  become  the 
attorney  for  the  Vandalia  Railroad  Company,  and  when  that 
company  became  defendant  in  suit  for  damages,  he  made  it 
his  rule  to  inquire  into  the  case  and  bring  about  an  amicable 
settlement ;  and  in  all  such  cases  his  advice  was  found  to  be 
just  and  satisfactory  to  both  parties. 

There  was  no  man  in  Indiana,  or  in  the  country,  who 
sympathized  more  with  the  masses  in  their  prosperity  or  their 
10 


146  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

adversity  tlinn  General  Harrison.  Tliis  fact  is  plainly  seen  in 
his  attitude  during  the  great  strike,  and  in  his  being  sought  for 
the  defense  of  those  who  had  grievances  against  monopolies. 

There  is  a  reason  for  this.  He  was  thoroughly  American  in 
his  principles.  He  had  no  sym]:)athy  with  that  sentiment  in 
the  South  w  hich  declared  that  a  certain  class  had  no^  rights 
which  a  certain  other  class  was  bound  to  respect.  He  had  no 
svmpath\  with  the  idea  that  any  class  conditions  should  hinder 
indi^iduals  in  the  free  race  for  developed  merit  and  for  success, 
and  that  anything  Imt  real  merit,  possessed  or  de\eloped  in 
the  race,  ought  to  entitle  to  prestige  or  any  sort  of  honor.  He 
sought  to  take  away  e\ery  shackle  that  bound  the  poor  man, 
and  to  place  around  him  every  favorable  circumstance  that 
any  other  man  enjoyed. 

In  1878  there  was  another  Indiana  State  campaign  for 
counties  and  districts.  Again  Mr.  Harrison's  voice  was 
heard  in  almost  every  part  of  the  State.  This,  also,  was 
almost  a  hopeless  cam]:)aign,  so  far  as  the  Republicans  were 
concerned.  The  Greenl)ack  movement  was  even  growing, 
and  in  that  year  the  Grecnbackers  were  making  a  vigorous 
canvass.  The\-  had  ha<l  an  advantage  ever  since  the  crisis 
began,  and  a  greater  advantage  since  it  was  announced  that 
specie  payment  would  be  resumed  January  i,  1879.  The 
fear  of  resumption  had  been  one  of  the  powerful  influences 
against  tiie  Republicans  in  the  campaign  of  1S76,  antl  was  a 
more  powerful  influence  now.  In  the  existing  state  ot  atlairs, 
this  can  l)e  readily  understood,  and  needs  no  further  explana- 
tion :  Init  it  must  be  constantly  borne  in  mind,  in  making  an 
estimate  of  all   the   iniluences  against   w  hich   the   Republican 


ULYSSES  S.  GRANT, 

THE   SECOND  REPUBLICAN   PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


14S  Till':   LIFE  OF 

party  had  to  contend,  and  of  an\  one  man's  influfncf  in  the 
contest,  until  \\\v  triumph  ot'  the  j^olicy  on  the  appointed  day. 
Among  other  important  speeches  delivered  by  Mr.  Harrison 
during  that  campaign,  was  one  at  Riclimond,  Indiana,  on  the 
9th  of  August.  The  following  outline  of  the  speech  was 
made  l)y  one  of  the  Indianapolis  papers,  and  gives  an  idea  of 
the  c^uestions  discussed  there  and  throughout  the  State  : 
*' Mr.  Voorhees  on  the  Presidential  Title  —  Why  the  Army 
was  Attacked  —  Democratic  (Jovernors  Call  for  Help  —  .South 
Carolina  Again  in  Revolt — Fiat  Dollars  vs.  Greenbacks  — 
Labor  Wants  a  Par  Dollar — The  Labor  Qiiestion  —  Class 
Dissensions— Voorhees'  Bloody  .Shirt  —  The  Brighter  Side." 
The  Democratic  and  inflation  organs  endeavored  to  make  a 
good  deal  of  capital  out  of  his  use  of  the  terms  "  fiat  dollars  " 
and  "  fiat  money,"  as  if  in  them  he  had  sneered  at  the  thou- 
sands of  good  people  who  then  held  that  mistaken  idea.  But 
Mr.  Harrison  was  a  man  who  ne\  ei'  made  apologies  for  his 
positions,  nor  sought  to  win  fixor  h\  conciliating  explanations. 
lie  condemned  the  "fiat  "  principle  without  fear  or  favor,  and 
when  January  came,  successful  resumption  sustained  him. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  wants  of  the  people  along  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  River  had  been  presented  to  Congress 
in  vain.  That  is,  thousands  of  acres  of  alluvial  lands  needed 
to  be  reclaimed  from  the  almost  \early  overflow.  Much 
monev  had  indeed  been  s|)ent  in  clearing  the  mouth  ot  the 
river,  as  well  as  other  wa\s.  But  in  1S79,  Congress  at  last 
took  the  matter  in  hand  in  earnest.  The  President  was  author- 
ized to  appoint  a  "  Mississijjpi  Ri\er  Commission,"  consist- 
ing of  seven  able  men,  some   of   whom  were  to  be  surveying 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  149 

engineers,  to  take  charge  of  the  matter  of  the  improvement  of 
the  river,  and  the  rechiiming  of  the  alluvial  lands.  President 
Hayes  appointed  Benjamin  Harrison  one  of  that  commission, 
with  Captain  James  B.  Eads  —  who  had  just  made  himself 
famous  in  the  constructing  of  the  jetties  at  the  Gulf  end  of  the 
South  Pass  —  and  others  of  like  abilitv.  As  in  everything  he 
undertook,  here  Air.  Harrison  did  etlicient  service.  He  had 
his  special  "  calling,"  but  \vith  his  power  of  application  and 
his  mastering  e\  erv  subject  that  came  before  him  for  consider- 
ation, he  might  ha\e  made  a  success  in  anv  calling.  He  was 
ready  for  anv  work  he  might  be  called  on  to  do. 

By  thfs  time  the  political  situation  was  completely  changed. 
The  crisis  —  or  what  many  considered  a  crisis  — of  resumption 
had  passed.  The  Republican  partv  had  brought  the  country 
safelv  through  another  one  of  the  dark  periods  of  her  history. 
Confidence  was  again  restored,  and  prosperity  began  to  rise 
like  a  bright  sun  over  the  land.  The  party  stood  forth  with  a 
clear  record,  in  liaxing  not  onl\-  accomplished  everything  it 
had  imdertaken  to  do  for  the  country,  but  with  the  confession 
forced  from  its  enemies  that  evervthing  it  had  done  was  a 
good  thing.  The  issue  of  resumption,  like  that  of  slaver}', 
was  settled  forever.  There  was  now  absolutely  no  immediate 
issue.  The  Democrats  had  nothing  to  warn  the  country  about ; 
they  had  only  one  complaint  to  make,  and  that  was  a  false  one, 
so  far  as  law  and  electoral  votes  were  concerned.  During  the 
crisis,  while  men  were  in  doubt  as  to  the  partv  policv,  the 
electoral  votes  of  several  states  were  lost,  but  there  were 
other  gains  ;  yet,  the  popular  vote  showed  the  real  state  of 
feeling  in  the  coimtry.     But  the  triumph  came  now,  and  everv 


150  THE  LIFE  OF 

m;m  saw   that  if  the  policN'  ot'  other  parties  had  succeeded,  the 
l)r()sperit\-  would  uot  lia\e  come. 

Indiana  sliarcd  the  general  good  feeling.  She  had  given 
her  electoral  vote  to  the  Repu1)lican  candidates  at  every  elec- 
tion since  1856,  except  that  of  1S76.  and  in  l)oth  those  years 
men  feared  her  policy,  which  had  at'tcrwards  proved  so  suc- 
cessfid  and  right. 

In  1879,  President  Hayes  made  a  tour  through  the  Western 
States,  with  his  hero-Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  John  Sherman. 
They  came  to  Indianapolis.  It  was  the  year  of  agricultural 
rehound,  as  well  as  political  triimiph.  There  was  a  great 
intlustrial  parade,  the  like  of  which  Indiana — a  State,  perhaps, 
imecjualed  for  mighty  gatherings  ami  displays  —  had  ne\er 
seen  before.  Washington  vStreet,  Market  vStreet,  Fennsyh  ania, 
Meridian,  and  Illinois  streets,  were  thickly  crowded  with 
human  beings  ;  and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  find  a  path 
through  the  crowds  for  the  jjarade.  which  itself  \yas  \er\  long, 
and  headed  1)\  the  President,  Mr.  Sherman.  Mr.  Williams,  and 
others.  Indiana  was  happ\  .  Mr.  Harrison,  also,  was  in  the 
\an  ;  and  he  also  shared  the  honor  of  entertaining  the  dis- 
tinguished guests.  He  was  their  Hrm  personal  friend,  inul 
they  could  not  ha\e  left  —  aside  from  consideiations  of  honor 
—  y\ithout  enjo\iugthe  hospitalil\   of  his  home. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  chairman  of  the  Indiana  delegation  to 
the  National  Rej)ublican  Coinention  that  met  in  Chicago, 
June  "J,  1880.  When  the  (juestion  was  there  raisetl  b\  some 
of  his  trieuds,  as  to  putting  his  name  before  the  con\ention  as 
candidate  toi'  the  nomination  for  I'resideiit.  lie  prompth 
checked  the  moxenient.      He  at   leniith  cast    the    soliil    Indiana 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  151 

vote  for  Garfield.  When  he  went  home,  he  entered  into  the 
canvass  with  great  zeal.  As  usual,  the  State  election  was  to 
be  held  in  October,  and  he  w^rought  faithfully  to  make  the 
Republican  success  most  brilliant  in  both  contests.  The 
Republican  candidate  for  governor  was  his  former  law-partner, 
the  Honorable  Albert  G.  Porter,  and  together  they  made  a 
most  vigorous  canvass. 

Among  the  speeches  which  Mr.  Harrison  made  that  year 
was  one  at  Terre  Haute,  on  the  20th  of  August.  Here  he  dis- 
cussed the  question  of  honest  elections,  which  had  been  an 
open  question  —  referring  especially  to  the  South  —  ever  since 
the  war  ;  the  eflbrts  that  had  been  made  at  election  reform, 
which  had  been  resisted  bv  Democi^ats  everywhere  ;  the  trauds 
in  Indiana;  the  double  position  of  ex-Governor  Hendricks  — 
the  evidences  of  his  insincerity  in  matters  of  reform  ;  the 
interference  of  the  Democratic  Supreme  Court ;  the  general 
Democratic  opposition  to  United  States  election  laws  ;  tlie 
Democratic  frauds  in  Jennings  County,  Indiana,  in  Maine, 
and  in  New  York  ;  the  South  already  counted  for  Hancock  ; 
Hancock  and  English,  and  Garfield  and  Arthur,  and  Albert 
G.  Porter.  It  was  a  most  masterful  arraigning  of  the  Demo- 
cratic partv  for  its  unblushing  frauds.  Another  notable  speech 
was  delivered  September  nth,  at  Indianapolis,  in  reply  to  some 
slanderous  charges  that  had  been  put  forth  by  Mr.  Hendricks 
against  Mr.  Garfield.  Air.  Harrison  never  did  better  than 
when  defending  friends,  or  his  country,  or  his  party,  from  vm- 
just  accusations.  He  had  so  strong  a  sense  of  honor  that 
dishonor  done  to  any  one  else,  and  especially  to  those  he  loved. 


15::  THE  LIFE  OF 

stirred  in  him  IIk-  dcupcst  indignation.  His  eloquence  at  such 
times  was  like  a  flood  sweeping  everything-  before  it. 

Mr.  Porter  was  elected  governer  b\-  a  handsome  majority. 
Also,  when  the  votes  were  counted,  it  was  found  that  there 
was  to  be  a  respectable  Republican  majority  in  the  next  legis- 
lature. From  this  time  until  the  close  of  the  general  cam- 
paign, Indiana  was  not  considered  a  doubtful  state,  antl  the 
heat  of  the  battle  was  in  othei-  quarters.  Nevertheless,  Mr. 
Harrison  did  notecase  his  acti\it\  until  the  grand  ami  success- 
ful issue  of  the  campaign  was  announced. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  legislature  was  Republican, 
it  was  plainly  foreshadowed  who  was  to  be  the  next  United 
States  Senator  from  Indiana.  There  were  many  able  men 
among  the  Indiana  Republicans  who  were  suitable  for  the 
high  office.  But  there  was  one  man  who  had  stood  by  the 
party  in  every  struggle  since  1856.  He  had  led  in  its  hope- 
less, as  well  as  its  hopeful,  battles.  He  had  accepted  certain 
defeat  to  save  the  party  from  complete  disaster.  He  had 
suflered  for  his  party  ;  he  had  done  more  for  it  than  any  other 
one  man  now  living  in  the  State  —  and  all  this,  not  as  a  mere 
])artisan,  but  as  a  patriotic  citizen  and  a  statesman.  There 
vyere  others  thought  of  by  a  few,  and  at  first  there  were  move- 
ments made  in  their  favor.  But  in  the  Republican  caucus  but 
one  name  was  considered  —  that  of  Jienjamin  Harrison.  So 
when  the  new  legislature  met,  his  name  was  presented 
before  the  joint  convention  as  the  inianimous  choice  of  the 
Republicans,  and  he  was  elected  to  serve  in  the  United  States 
Senate   six  years  —  from  March,  1S81,  until  March,  1887. 

To   be   eminently    suitable    for    that    hii'li   office    tlie   hiy^hest 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  153 

qualities  of  statesmanship  are  necessary.  One  must  be,  if  a 
lawyer,  a  lawyer  and  politician  of  the  best  types.  A  lawyer 
of  the  best  type  must  be  a  man  of  education,  breadth  of 
thought,  ability,  and  a  man  of  principles  rather  than  technical 
learning.  Such  a  lawyer  was  Mr.  Harrison.  A  politician 
of  the  best  type  must  be  first  of  all  a  patriot.  Next,  he 
must  be  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  history,  general 
and  political,  of  his  own  country.  Next,  he  must  under- 
stand every  kind  of  government,  and  be  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  law  and  government  in  the  world,  and  the  special 
histories  of  nations.  Then  he  must  be  a  man  of  broad  princi- 
ples, broad  culture,  and  broad  learning.  Such  a  politician 
was  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  being  both  a  lawyer  and  a  poli- 
tician of  the  highest  types,  h^  was  a  statesman  in  the  full 
meaning  of  the  word,  and  was  eminently  fitted  to  be  one  of 
the  law-makers  and  directors  of  the  greatest  nation  on  earth. 
All  this  implies  what  he  was  as  a  citizen  and  a  man.  A 
Senator  of  the  United  States  ought  to  be,  intellectually  and 
morally,  a  man  of  the  highest  type.  And  such  was  Benjamin 
Harrison. 


Chapter  XI. 


SENATOR  AND  CITIZEN. 

REMOVAL     TO     WASHINGTON THK       OLD       HOME     AT     INDIANAPOLIS 

A    TYPICAL    AMERICAN    WOMAN DAUGHTER    AND    SON THE     NEW 

HOME     AND      SOCIETY SIX      YEARS    OF      SOCIAL      VICTORIES TWO 

MARRIAGES   HARRISON      IN      THE      SENATE  THE       BURLINGAME 

TREATY THE    HISTORY    OF    CHINESE   LEGISLATION  —  THE  DAKOTA 

REPORT  AND  SPEECHES MEMBER  OF  THE  COMMITTEE  ON  FOR- 
EIGN RELATIONS THE  CONTRACT  LABOR  BILL ALIEN  OWNER- 
SHIP OF  AMERICAN  SOIL  —  A  REVIEW  OF  RECORD  —  HISTORY  OF 
THE    SECOND    CONTEST    FOR     SliN ATORSHIP  —   HOME    AGAIN. 

The  time  now  came  for  the  hrcakin^-up  of  the  Indianapolis 
home,  for  one  in  Washington.  But  this  caused  no  great 
(hiUering  of  iiearts  in  the  liousehokl. 

Mrs.  Harrison  was  too  sensible  to  have  her  head  turned  by 
the  event,  or  to  manifest  any  trepidation  when  about  to  assume 
new  social  lesponsibilities.  E\en  it"  slic  liad  never  before 
graced  such  circles  as  she  was  now  about  to  enter,  she  was 
too  self-possessed  and  too  well-equipped  foi-  the  new  duties  to 
manifest  anxiety  as  to  the  coming  social  change. 

Her  etlucation  was  excellent.  She  had  been  reared,  from 
infancv  to  marriage,  in  a  home  of  rcHnement  and  culture,  and 
all  her  surroundings  until  that  day  were  those  of  the  college 
and  of  leanilng  and  n.ligion.  At  her  marriage,  she  had 
become  associated  in  lite  with  one  w  ho  not  only  had  graduated 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  155 

with  honors,  but  was  a  lover  of  books  and  of  learning,  culti- 
vated and  disciplined  in  heart  and  mind,  and  having  the  high- 
est culture  for  his  ideal.  She  had  advanced  with  him  since 
marriage,  until  he  had  attained  to  his  first  ideal  life,  and 
passed  far  beyond  it. 

The  home  at  Indianapolis  was  a  home  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.  There  was  no  gaudiness,  no  outward  display,  about 
the  plain  and  modest  brick  house  that  stood  on  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  streets  in  the  city,  and  just  far  enough  up  town 
to  be  convenient  to  the  Market  Street  law  office,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  awav  from  the  hum  of  business.  Thousands  of 
such  mansions  are  seen  in  the  cities,  towns,  and  country.  East 
and  West.  A  red-brick,  square-built  edifice,  with  two  stories 
and  an  attic  ;  fronting  the  east  ;  set  liack  in  the  yard  on  the 
west  side  of  the  street ;  three  front  windows  above,  and  two 
below  w^ith  a  door  on  the  north  corner  imder  the  north  win- 
dow above, —  that  is  a  familiar  object  to  the  traveler  on  the 
streets  and  highways  of  our  cities. 

Many  of  such  houses  look  cold  and  cheerless  and  prison- 
like, but  not  so  with  this  one.  An  air  of  comfort  reigned  ; 
but  it  was  not  occasioned  by  the  maples  and  the  flowers  and 
the  lawn;  though  the  spirit  of  comfort  seemed  to  pervade  them. 
It  cannot  be  described  ;  but  every  one  knows  that  where 
there  is  a  happy,  contented  family,  cultivated  and  pure,  the 
fact  is  manifested  on  the  outside  of  the  house,  in  touches 
here  and  there,  and  arrangement — but  touches  and  arrange- 
ment apparent  only  by  eftect.  An  almost  irrepressible  desire  to 
enter  and  enjoy  the  welcome  and  home-comfort  possessed  the 
beholder  at  the  gate. 


i5^>  THE  LIFE  OF 

Inside,  the  effects  were  all  the  same  as  those  outside  — 
cheerful,  inviting,  pleasing-,  home-like.  The  reception-room, 
off  the  entrance-hall,  impressed  the  caller  or  the  visitor  on 
the  instant  of  entering,  with  the  feeling  that  he  was  wel- 
come. The  light  that  came  through  the  curtained  windows, 
and  reflected  from  the  light-colored  finish,  was  not  bright 
enough  to  invite  Inspection,  nor  sombre  enough  to  debar 
it.  It  the  visitor  were  not  given  to  admiring  art,  he  would 
go  away  pleased  with  everything  he  saw^,  Init  could  not  recall 
the  contents  of  the  room  ;  evei^ything  was  so  natural  and  cosy, 
to  use  the  language  of  those  not  artists.  But  looking  closely, 
he  would  find  that  the  reception-room  was  full  of  beauty  ; 
an*!  the  artistic  e\e  found  nothing  to  odend  it.  The  con- 
trasts were  not  bold  nor  harsh.  The  fin-niture  was  selected 
apparently  more  for  comfort  than  effect;  but  the  "har- 
mony "  was  perfect.  On  the  walls,  on  the  centre-table,  on  the 
stands,  and  on  the  marl)le  mantel,  there  were  pictures,  statuarv 
and  bric-a-biac  —  some  that  were  costlv  and  somewhat  rare, 
and  s(jme  that  were  of  little  cost,  but  all  selected  and  arranged 
with  artistic  taste  and  skill.  There  were  paintings  and  etch- 
ings and  steel  engravings  and  photographs. 

The  other  rooms  were  arranged  with  the  same  taste  —  giving 
an  air  of  culture  that  could  only  belong  to  the  home  of  the 
cultivated.  The  large  library-room,  up-stairs,  was  a  paradise 
for  those  of  literary  inclination.  There  were  fiction,  travels, 
histories,  essays,  and  heavy  pliilosopliical  and  scientific  works  ; 
there  were  books  on  art,  literature,  science,  government,  and 
religion.  It  required  education,  thorougli  knowledge,  and 
well-disciplined    judgment   to  select   those  books.      Here,  also, 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  157 

Avere  pictures  on  tlic  wall.  Here  were  etchings,  drapery,  and 
panels.  Here  was  a  large  steel  engraving  of  William  Henrv 
Harrison.  Here  was  a  picture  of  General  Benjamin  Harrison 
and  his  staff.  Here  was  an  old-fashioned  rocking-chair.  And 
here  was  the  room  that  was  sacred  by  reason  of  its  linking 
with  the  past.  Some  of  those  books  had  been  gathered  while 
the  boy  was  under  tutors  in  his  father's  house  ;  some  had  been 
gathered  while  at  Farmer's  College  ;  some  while  at  Miami 
University  ;  some  had  been  bought  while  in  their  first  Indian- 
apolis home  ;  and  ever^  stage  of  the  lives  of  parents  and 
children  was  represented  by  books  in  the  librar\ ,  as  well  as 
other  objects  in  the  same  room. 

Mrs.  Harrison,  at  this  time,  was  as  beautiful  as  when,  in 
1S54,  she  had  become  a  bride.  There  were  the  same  charms, 
with  the  added  ones  that  had  come  through  years  of  experience 
and  culture.  She  was  hospitable,  charitable,  cheerful,  and 
had  ahvays  a  pleasant  word  and  smile  ready  for  those  in  her 
presence.  She  had  the  hapj^y  faculty  of  making  other  women 
her  friends,  and  she  had  many  of  them.  She  loved  her  children, 
and  was  loved  by  them.  She  loved  her  husband,  and  was  his 
companion  in  his  life  in  everv  sense,  and  in  return  she  received 
from  him  the  affection  and  devotion  and  care  of  a  strong, 
manly  heart.  In  manner  and  dress  she  manifested  the  same 
taste  as  in  the  appointments  of  her  home.  Her  dresses  fitted 
neatly  and  snugly,  and  she  attracted  only  by  her  beauty,  her 
loveliness  and  grace  of  manner.  She  had  no  affected  airs  ; 
she  was  frank  and  straightforw^ard  in  her  kindliness,  and  was 
neither  unpleasantly  obtrusive  in  her  friendships  and  attentions, 
nor  unpleasant  in  her  manner  or  conversation. 


15S  THE  LIFE  OF 

Her  son,  Russell,  was  at  tlial  time  jy  years  old,  a  ruddy, 
agreeable,  and  cultixated  vounji^  man.  lie  was  alert  and  keen- 
eved.  1  Ic  drc'sst'd  nealh  and  heconiinj^ly.  Like  his  father, 
he  was  alwa\s  cool  and  sober  of  thought,  evidently  resolved 
never  to  let  a  storm  of  any  kind  turn  him  aside  when  once  he 
had  started  on  a  train  of  thinking. 

Mrs.  Harrison's  daughter,  Mary  Scott  Harrison,  about  Hve 
years  younger  than  her  brother,  was  beautiful,  and  not  unlike 
her  mother  in  form,  features,  and  manner.  She  was  one  of  the 
most  attractive  young  ladies  in  the  best  Indianapolis  circles. 

Her  cultivation  was  what  she  would  find  in  such  a  home, 
and  with  such  school  advantages  as  parents  like  hers  would 
seek  to  aftbrd  their  children.  There  was  then  already  a  v/his- 
per  afloat  among  her  friends  ;  and  a  certain  young  man  named 
James  Robert  McKee,  of  a  respectable  business  firm  in  the 
cit\',  was  said  to  have  that  noble  afiection  for  her  that  would 
lead  him  on  to  Washington  many  times  before  the  senatorial 
days  should  be  ended. 

This  was  the  family  that  General  Harrison  took  with  him 
to  Washington.  He  was  not  rich,  and  he  could  not  aflbrd  a 
rich  home  for  them,  even  as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States. 
Nor  was  he  close  and  covetous,  and  likely  to  subject  his  family 
to  embarrassment  and  inconvenience  on  that  account.  This  is 
seen  from  the  description  just  given  of  his  Indianapolis  home  ; 
and  it  is  also  seen,  from  that  description,  that  his  family  was 
not  likely  to  in\olve  him  in  expenses  he  could  not  meet. 
However,  their  son  was  not  destined  to  become  a  constant  ele- 
ment in  Washington  society,  on  account  of  other  callings,  but 
was  to  make  fiequent  and  long  visits  to  the  new  home. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  159 

They  took  a  suite  of  rooms  at  the  Riggs  House,  and  lived 
for  a  time  neither  expensively  nor  closely,  and  here  they  began 
to  manifest  the  social  qualities  that  had  always  marked  them, 
and  drew  around  themselves  such  friends  as  the  prestige  of  Sena- 
torship  would  bring,  and  as  would  be  attracted  by  such  refine- 
ment and  accomplishments.  Yet  they  had  not  the  prestige  of 
established  social  standing;  but  nevertheless,  without  this  ad- 
vantage, considered  so  necessary  to  success  in  Washington  so- 
cietv,  they  made  an  •'  impression,"  they  won  themselves  hosts 
of  friends,  and  became  the  centre  of  such  a  circle  as  the 
proudest  might  long  to  enter.  Mrs.  Harrison's  triumph  here 
was  a  tribute  to  lier  strong  personality.  She  was  always  ''  at 
home  "  on  Thursday.  Inviting  a  half-dozen  lady  friends  to 
receive  her  guests  with  her,  she  succeeded  in  makirtg  the 
occasion  so  full  of  good  cheer  and  hospitality  that  Thursday 
became  to  all  a  day  of  happy  remembrance  and  of  eager 
anticipation. 

Thus  went  on  six  years  of  social  victories.  Sometime  after 
their  arrival,  they  moved  from  the  Riggs  House  to  a  boarding- 
house  near  McPherson  Square,  and  afterwards  to  the  Wood- 
mont,  an  apartment  house  on  Iowa  Circle.  But  wherever 
they  went,  it  was  the  same  —  their  friends  came  to  enjoy  their 
hospitality. 

Among  the  special  friends  found  in  society  at  the  capital 
were  the  wife  and  daughter  of  Senator  Saunders,  of  Nebraska. 
The  daughter.  Miss  Mamie  Saunders,  was  a  beautiful  blonde, 
accomplished,  true-hearted,  and  a  thoroughly  American  young 
lady.  In  the  winter  of  iSSi-82,  she  met  Russell,  Senator 
Harrison's  son,  for  the  first  time,  while  he  was  on  a  visit  to  his 


i6o  THE  LIFE  OF 

parents  at  the  Riggs  House.  The  acquaintance  ripened  into 
friendship  and  the  friendship  into  love.  Three  years  after- 
wards they  were  married  ;  and  very  soon  they  returned  to  the 
far  West. 

Not  long  after  this  wedding,  occurred  another  ;  and  the  onlv 
remaining  child  of  the  household  was  taken.  Whispered 
])rophesies  had  been  fulfilled.  James  Robert  McKee  had  made 
his  pilgrimages  to  Washington.  The  two  had  resolved  to 
share  each  other's  life,  and  enter  the  most  sacred  of  compan- 
ionships. Thus  the  two  children  were  gone  ;  and  the  season 
of  depression  and  loneliness  that  follows  the  departure  of  the 
sunshine  of  a  home,  followed  in  this  home. 

Mr.  Harrison  began  his  senatorial  career  March  4th,  1S81, 
at  the' first  special  session  of  the  Senate  of  the  Forty-seventh 
Congress.  The  object  of  this  special  session  was  to  enable  the 
Senate  to  act  upon  the  new  appointments  of  President  Gar- 
field, who  was  that  day  inaugiu'ated.  On  that  da}'  also  Vice- 
President  Arthur  took  the  oatli  of  office  and  became  President 
of  the  United  States  Senate.  There  were  just  thirt\--seven 
Republicans  and  thirty-seven  Democrats ;  but  there  seemed 
to  be  but  one  cloud  that  threatened  the  calm  and  peaceful  sail- 
ing of  that  session.  The  nominations  for  Cabinet  officers  were 
sent  in,  and  all  were  promptly  confirmed.  Soon  afterwards 
the  Senate  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  extra  session  in  JNIav. 

It  was  during  this  second  extra  session  that  the  serious 
trouldcs  over  the  appointments  for  New  York  posts  occurred. 
Mr.  Harrison  regretted  all  this  ;  and  while  he  held  positive 
opinions,  he  took  so  little  part   in    the    matter,  and   conducted 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  i6i 

himself  so  prudently,  that  he  could  not  be  considered  an  antag- 
onist by  either  faction. 

From  that  time  vSenator  Harrison  was  in  his  place  dvn-lng 
sessions,  whenever  it  was  possible.  From  the  first  he  was 
not  forward  to  speak  or  to  take  any  conspicuous  part,  and  for 
a  time  he  might  have  been  called  a  "  silent  member."  This 
was  due,  no  doubt,  to  the  same  feeling  that  had  always  kept 
him  from  thrusting  himself  forward.  This  feeling  has  been 
referred  to  in  relating  the  incidents  of  his  protesting  against 
taking  the  stump  in  1S56.  He  thought  there  were  those  pres- 
ent who,  by  reason  of  age  and  experience,  might  do  better. 
Nevertheless,  he  held  himself  ready  to  do  his  duty  ;  and  he 
was  ready  now  to  speak,  as  he  had  been  then,  if  it  should  be 
demanded. 

This  apparent  hesitancy  was  also  a  manifestation  of  another 
trait  of  his  character  —  carefulness  that  looks  cautiouslv  around, 
studies  all  the  situation,  and  gains  full  command  of  forces, 
before  striking.  Any  new  situation  is  in  the  nature  of  things 
apt  to  confuse,  and  detract  from  the  full  command  of  ourselves. 
But  Mr.  Harrison's  ability  was  known,  and  it  was  not  long- 
before  his  talents  were  in  demand. 

Perhaps  the  first  measure  of  great  importance,  in  the  dis- 
cussion of  which  Senator  Harrison  took  a  prominent  part 
was  that  relating  to  the  suspension  of  Chinese  immigration. 
To  understand  this  thoroughly,  it  will  be  necessary  to  go  back 
and  look  at  the  treaties  that  were  then  in  existence  with  China, 
and  the  manner  and  spirit  of  their  negotiation. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1866,  the  hitherto  half-unknown 
empires  of  China  and  Japan  came  into  a  closer  relationship 
U 


i62  THE  LIFE  OF 

to  the  United  States,  by  reason  of  a  steamship  line  that  was 
then  estabhshed.  A  wide  interest  in  those  countries  was 
ahnost  immediately  awakened.  Moreover,  the  changed  atti- 
tude of  the  two  countries  toward  our  own  and  other  civilized 
nations  w^as  awakening  sympathy,  as  well  as  interest.  It  was 
in  that  year  that  the  new  and  more  liberal-minded  Tycoon 
came  into  power  in  Japan.  It  was  at  the  beginning  of  the 
next  year  that  the  old  Mikado  died,  and  that  the  young 
Mikado,  but  sixteen  years  old,  came  into  his  place.  In  April 
following,  the  Tycoon  issued  an  invitation  to  all  the  leading 
powers  to  a  conference,  to  be  held  in  Osaca,  January  i,  1868. 
The  result  of  that  conference  was  that  Japan  soon  came  into 
commercial  and  diplomatic  communication  with  Belgium, 
Denmark,  England,  France,  Holland,  Italy,  Portugal,  Prussia, 
Switzerland,  and  the  United  States,  and  the  ports  of  Yedo, 
Osaca,  and  Hiogo,  and  a  port  on  the  west  coast  of  the  Empire 
Island,  were  opened  to  our  trade  and  travel.  Every  steamer 
that  arrived  brought  us  report  of  some  new  liberal  movement. 
The  interest  deepened.  Missionaries  flocked  thither,  and  the 
sympathy  of  the  whole  American  Nation  was  stirred  in  behalf 
of  the  Japanese. 

This  had  much  to  do  with  increasing  national  interest  in 
China,  also  ;  and  while  that  nation  was  making,  at  that  time 
some  advancement,  the  un-informed  began  to  anticipate  vast 
strides  there,  and  premature  sympathy  was  thus  awakened. 
Pnit  tlie  Empire  of  Ki-Tsiang  was  not  breaking  its  own 
shackles  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  as  v/as  the  case  with 
its  more  eastern  neighbor.  Nor  were  the  subjects  of  the 
Chinese    Emperor  so  easily  persuaded  to  seek  enlightenment 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  163 

from  other  people.  Yet  the  rulers,  and  many  who  belong  to 
the  upper  castes,  were  willing  to  learn,  and  heartily  wished 
the  knowledge  of  the  West  would  penetrate  to  the  centre  of 
the  empire.  This  feeling  among  those  classes  had  been  man- 
ifesting itself  for  some  years,  and  much  of  it,  of  late  years,  had 
been  due  to  the  influence  of  one  American  at  Pekin.  About 
the  time  of  the  extraordinary  revolution  in  Japan,  China 
began  to  make  some  further  advance,  largely  through  the 
influence  of  this  same  man,  and  hence,  Americans  were 
deceived,  for  it  was  not  at  all  like  the  other  nation. 

That  man  was  Anson  Burlingame.  He  was  born  in  New 
Berlin,  New  York,  in  1823.  He  graduated  at  Harvard  in 
1849.  He  was  sent  as  Representative  to  Congress  by  the 
National  party  in  1855,  but  he  soon  became  a  Republican,  and 
he  was  kept  in  his  seat  until  1S61.  In  that  year  he  was 
appointed  Minister  to  China,  and  there  he  remained  until  1867. 
Burlingame  won  the  confidence  of  the  Emperor  and  officials, 
and  was  thus  enabled  to  do  much  toward  keeping  up  friendly 
relations  between  the  two  nations.  He  was  also  instrumental 
in  setting  forward  certain  improvements  looking  toward  the 
advancement  of  the  people  in  the  Empire  itself,  and  such  bene- 
fits resulted  from  them  tiiat  his  influence  with  the  government 
became  extraordinary.  In  1S67  he  resigned,  against  the  earn- 
est protest  of  all  the  chief  oflficials  of  the  Empire,  who,  when 
they  could  not  prevail  upon  him  to  remain,  conceived  the  idea 
of  honoring  him  in  a  way  that  no  foreigner  had  ever  been 
honored  by  them  before.  An  imperial  decree,  of  November 
21,  1867,  announced  that  Anson  Burlingame  had  been  selected 
as  a  special  embassador  of  the  Chinese  Government  to  the 
Great  Powers. 


164  THE  LIFE  OF 

This  was  accepted  by  Jkirliiii^ame,  and  he  prepared  to  leave 
upon  his  extraordinary  mission.  He  stopped  at  Shanghai  for 
some  weeks,  and  while  there  the  officials  of  the  Empire 
crowded  around  and  showed  him  marked  reverence  and  awe, 
some  of  them  falling  down  before  him.  They  had  never  seen 
one  with  so  great  honors  bestowed  upon  him.  On  tiie  25th  of 
February,  1868,  he  sailed  by  way  of  Europe  for  the  United 
States,  with  those  Chinese  ofHcials  sent  with  him  to  learn  the 
art  of  being  consul  to  a  foreign  country. 

It  can  now  be  seen  how  easy  it  would  have  been  for  Burling- 
game  to  win  concessions  from  the  Chinese  Government  favor- 
able to  our  own,  and  that,  being  an  American,  he  would  do 
nothing  detrimental  to  his  native  country.  It  can  also  be 
seen  that,  having  been  six  years  in  China,  and  interested  in  that 
government  and  people,  he  would  do  nothing  against  them. 
It  can  be  seen,  too,  from  the  state  of  the  American  public 
mind  regarding  the  Eastern  emi)ires  at  that  time,  by  reason  of 
the  ''awakenings"  already  described,  a  treaty  most  favorable 
to  China  would  be  acceptable  to  the  people  and  our  rulers.  It 
was  under  these  influences  and  circumstances  that  the  famous 
Burlingame  Treaty  was  made,  which  consisted  only  of  "  addi- 
tional articles  "  to  the  treaty  of  June  18,  186S.  The  Bur- 
lingame Treaty  was  signed  at  Washington,  July  4,  186S,  and 
ratified  by  the  United  States  Senate  on  the  i6th  of  that  month. 

That  part  of  it  which  afterwards  came  up  while  considering 
the  question  of  the  restriction  of  Chinese  immigration,  it  is 
only  necessary  here  to  explain.  It  stipulated  that  the  Chinese 
laborers  and  other  Chinese  immigrants  might  have  the  full 
enjoyment  of  the  rights  of  labor  and  travel  in  the  United 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  165 

States,  and  that  citizens  of  the  United  States  might  have  the 
same  rights  in  China  ;  also,  prohibited  the  naturalization  of 
the  Chinese.  There  was  not  a  line  in  this  part  of  the  treaty 
that  was  not  thought  to  be  an  echo  of  the  principles  set  forth 
in  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  in  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  regarding  the  rights  of  people  of  any  nation 
coming  to  our  shores.  It  would  be  hard  for  a  genuine  Ameri- 
can not  to  indorse  it  with  genuine  heartiness,  not  knowing  the 
results  that  were  to  follow  ;  and  even  knowing  these,  to  desire 
to  prevent  them  by  any  means  that  would  destroy  the  Ameri- 
can principles  echoed  in  the  treaty. 

But  the  Mongolians  were  not  the  people  to  come  purely  for 
enlightenment  by  our  institutions,  nor  to  adopt  our  methods  of 
living  and  labor,  a^  those  are  expected  to  do  who  move  to  a 
foreign  country  for  any  purpose  that  involves  living  among  the 
people.  The  late  Chinese  advancement  was  very  insignificant, 
compared  with  that  of  Japan.  We  were  deceived  as  to  that, 
but  had  less  reason  to  be  deceived  as  to  the  hordes  that  would 
come.  In  1866,  China  had  a  population  of  450,000,000,  and 
counting  her  dependencies,  there  were  477,500,000.  This 
incredible  number  of  people  was  within  an  area  of  4,412,000 
square  miles,  or  one  thousand  and  eight  persons  to  the  square 
mile.  It  was  to  be  expected  that  if  an  *•' emigration  fever  " 
set  in  toward  the  United  States,  as  was  likely  to  be  the  case 
under  circumstances  so  new  to  the  people  of  China  as  Bur- 
lingame  brought  about,  those  vast  half-living  hordes  would 
precipitate  themselves  on  our  shores.  And  so  it  came  about ; 
—  a  degenerate  race  flooded  our  western  coasts,  overran  them, 
and  threatened  to  predominate. 


1 66  THE  LIFE  OF 

Naturally  the  people  of  those  coasts  saw  the  evil  first.  It 
was  a  long  time  before  the  matter  could  be  imderstood  by 
others,  and  before  any  steps  were  taken  that  looked  toward 
relief  of  the  Americans  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  American 
lal)orers  there  sutlered  for  lack  of  a  degenerate  and  filthy  style 
of  living;  that  is,  they  could  not  live  crowded  together  in 
hovels  and  pens,  and  so  could  not  compete  with  the  Chinese, 
who  could  so  live.  Then,  it  was  not  long  until  other  questions 
of  the  financial,  moral,  and  social  influence  of  the  "  heathen 
Chinee"  arose.  Louder  and  louder  came  the  demand  that  the 
evil  be  abated.  In  iS8o,  the  Burlingame  Treaty  was  some- 
what modified  —  evidently  the  proper  direction  in  which  to 
work  —  but  not  sufficiently  to  eradicate  the  evil,  or  prevent  its 
constant  growing  l)y  the  constant  immigration  of  Chinese. 

Then  came  the  long  discussions  in  Congress  upon  the  matter. 
A  bill  was  introduced  during  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  "  to 
enforce  treaty  stipulation  relating  to  the  Chinese."  A  substitute 
was  proposed,  and  considered,  whose  important  point  was  to 
limit  Chinese  immigration.  Section  i  was  as  follows:  "That 
from  and  after  the  expiration  of  sixty  days  next  after  the  pas- 
sage of  this  act,  anrl  until  the  expiration  of  twenty  years  next 
after  tlie  passage  of  this  act,  the  coming  of  Chinese  laliorers  to 
the  United  States  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby,  suspended." 
Subsequently  it  was  amended  so  as  to  read  ninety  days,  instead 
of  sixty. 

On  this  (|uesti()ii.  Senator  Ilarrrison  iield  with  .Senator  Hoar, 
of  Massachusetts,  that  the  bill  was  contrary  to  treaty  obliga- 
tions. He  saw,  perhaps  more  clearly  than  many  other  .Sena- 
tors, that  there  was,  incieetl,  an  unfortunate  e\  il  thrust  upon  our 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  167 

country  by  the  treaty  of  1868,  but  he  considered  that  the  delib- 
erate abrogation  of  that  treaty  by  Congress  would  be  unfair, 
unjust,  and  contrary  to  the  solemn  obligation  of  our  govern- 
ment toward  China.  Again,  he  agreed  with  Senator  Hoar  in 
the  following  sentiment  expressed  by  that  gentleman  in  reply 
to  statements  made  by  Senator  Edmunds:  "The  American 
doctrine  afHrms,  as  the  Declaration  of  Independence  affirms, 
and  as  the  New  Testament  affirms,  as  I  read  it  (two  author- 
ities which  lie  at  the  very  foundation  of  all  law  —  domestic,  in- 
ternational, individual  —  which  governs  mankind),  that  the  hu- 
man being  has  a  right,  conforming  to  law,  conforming  to 
proper  regulations  of  the  place  to  which  he  goes,  to  go  and 
seek  his  fortune,  and  to  earn  his  living,  by  honest  labor." 

It  could  not  be  expected  that  a  man  who  was  so  thoroughly 
an  American  as  was  Senator  Harrison,  from  birth,  training, 
and  principle,  could  take  any  other  view  than  this.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  his  noble  American  heart  had  been  stirred  in 
sympathy  with  the  waking  of  the  eastern  nations  in  i866-'j, 
and  that  it  had  fully  indorsed  the  sentiment  of  the  treaty.  It 
is  not  to  be  wondei^ed  at  that  such  a  man  should  inquire  now, 
what  had  become  of  the  treaty  and  the  honor  of  our  Nation, 
and  the  principles  on  which  it  was  founded. 

That  bill  passed  both  Senate  and  House.  Mr.  Harrison  did 
not  vote,  being  absent,  but  would  no  doubt  have  voted  against 
it  had  he  been  present.  It  was  sent  for  the  approval  of  Pres- 
ident Arthur,  who  returned  it  in  four  days  with  a  long  state- 
ment of  the  reasons  why  he  could  not  appnne  it.  Thus  it  did 
not  become  a  law. 

But  on  April  i/tli,  a  l)ili    ''tu  execute  certain  treaty  stipula- 


i6S  THE  LIFE  OF 

tions  with  thr  Chinese"  was  reported  tVom  the  Committee  on 
Education  in  the  House.  It  was  before  the  Senate  April  27th. 
Mr.  Harrison  made  two  brief  speeches  on  tliat  bill.  He  said 
that  wliile  the  treaty  used  the  word  "  laborers  "  in  one  sense, 
Conji^ress  could  not  change  tlie  meaning  it  had  there  h\  legis- 
lation. He  said  that  in  any  law  Congress  might  pass  (referring 
to  the  subject  of  the  treaty)  the  word  must  be  used  in  the  same 
sense  as  in  the  treaty.  This  position  was  sustained  by  the 
Senate.  It  has  since  been  held  by  eyery  President  and  Secre- 
tary of  State  down  to  the  present  time.  The  Honorable  Mr. 
Morrow ,  present  Representative  to  Congress  from  California, 
has  said  :  "  Mr.  Harrison's  \  iews  on  the  question  are  entirely 
satisfactory  to  us  in  California." 

That  bill  prohibited  Chinese  immigration  for  ten  years, 
instead  of  twenty  ;  and  there  were  some  other  slight  modifica- 
tions. It  passed  both  houses,  Mr.  Harrison  opposing  it  r)n 
purel\-  American  principles,  and  on  the  piinciple  of  our 
treaty  obligations.  It  was  signed  by  President  Arthur,  and 
became  a  law. 

It  has  been  thought  necessar\'  to  giye  a  detailetl  account  of 
the  Chinese  treat\'  and  legislation,  that  Mr.  Harrison's  short 
speeclies  and  his  xote  ma\-  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  his- 
tor\ .  He  savy  the  e\  il  and  felt  it  ;  but  he  was  an  American, 
and  did  not  belieye  in  the  uiupialified  right  of  exclusion  or 
retaining.  Yet  he  knew  that  something  ought  to  be  done  ; 
but  \yas  not  willing  to  do  what  he  considered  e\il  that  good 
might  come.  After  all,  it  will  sooner  or  later  ])e  tbund  that 
it  is  always  better  to  adhere  strictly  to  the  t'undamental  princi- 
ples of  our  government   in  nil  cases,  and  that  the  true  defense 


o 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  169 

t 
against   cheap   foreign   labor  must   be   found   in   definite    and 

effective  social  organization,  and  contract  labor  laws. 

In  subsequent  Chinese  legislation  Mr.  Harrison  took  active 
part.  He  was  made  a  member  of  the  Foreign  Relations  Com- 
mittee ;  and  when  the  restriction  bill  offered  by  vSenator  Fair, 
of  Nevada,  was  referred  to  that  committee,  he  assisted  in 
amending  it,  and  in  reporting  it  to  the  Senate,  which  it  passed 
without  division.  It  was  declared  to  be  one  of  the  best  bills 
ever  reported  by  any  committee  on  that  subject. 

vSenator  Harrison  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  discussion  on 
the  admission  of  Dakota  into  the  Union.  The  following  are 
extracts  from  some  of  his  speeches  on  that  subject : 

Congress  and  New   States. 

''  I  always  felt  that  if  there  was  to  be  a  fight  there  ought  not 
to  be  a  fence  between  the  people  who  wanted  to  engage  in  it  ; 
and  yet  the  Senator  from  Missouri,  finding  no  advocate  here 
of  the  doctrine  that  Dakota  is  a  state,  or  can  become  a  state 
until  Congress  has  passed  some  law  recognizing  her  as  a  state, 
has  gone  out  of  the  Senate  to  find  one. 

"It  is  well  enough  to  bear  in  mint!  in  this  connection  that 
Congress  cannot  make  a  state.  I  should  like  to  see  the  Sena- 
tor from  South  Carolina  or  the  Senator  from  Missouri  set 
about  making  a  state  by  a  law.  We  can  frame  no  state  con- 
stitution. We  can  set  up  no  state  government.  Congress 
may,  either  in  advance  oi"  by  an  act  of  ratification,  approve 
what  the  people  have  done,  but  Congress  cannot  make  a  state 
any  more  than  I  can  unmade  one.  The  authority  of  a  state 
constitution  and  organization  rests  upon  the  sure  foundation  of 


lyo  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  popular  will.  Mr.  President,  what  is  the  use  of  all  this 
vain  discussion?  Here  are  two  concurrent  things  that  must  be 
(lone.  First,  the  state  constitution  must  be  formed.  Who 
can  do  it?  The  people  who  are  to  live  under  it  ;  and  no  otlier 
hand  can  intermeddle  in  the  work.  Congress  cannot  do  it. 
What  is  the  other  efficient  act  to  constitute  a  state  of  the 
American  Union?  It  is  recognition  by  Congress  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  state.  These  two  things  must  occur  before  a  state 
can  exist,  and  the  simple  question  here  is,  is  the  initiative  in 
that  movement  necessarily  with  Congress?  I  sa\-  it  is  not. 
Two  bodies  are  necessary  to  act.  Congress  and  the  people, 
and  all  I  contend  for  here  to-dav  is  that  it  is  competent  for 
either  to  take  the  initiative,  and  tliat  the  act  is  not  consum- 
mated until  both  have  concurred.      Who  will  controvert  that? 

"  Is  this  limitation  upon  the  power  of  the  people  to  come  from 
the  Democratic  party,  the  partv  that  lias  boasted  through  its 
historv  that  it  lay  upon  the  breast  of  tlic  people  and  was 
responsive  to  their  impulses?  Is  it  from  Senators  on  that  side 
of  the  chamber  that  the  argument  is  to  come  that  the  people 
may  not  originate  a  movement  to  set  itp  a  state  government 
and  bring  to  Congress  for  ratification?  It  will  be  turning  back 
the  whole  history  of  the  party  on  this  question  if  we  divide 
lierc  upon  this  bill  on  that  proposition." 

The  Prayer  of  the  People  of  Dakota. 
"  Enough,  then,  for  this  part  of  the  case.      Here  are  a  people 
asking   for   admission,  against    whose    fitness    no    .Senator  has 
ventured  in  tliis  debate  to  :dlege  ;i  word.      Tliev  are   liere  pur- 
suing metliods  that  have  been  recognized  in  nearly  one-half  of 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  171 

the  cases  of  the  admission  of  states  since  the  original  thir- 
teen, at  least  nearly  one-half  of  those  that  passed  through  a 
territorial  organization  to  statehood.  They  are  here,  not 
asserting  themselves  to  be  a  state,  not  resisting  the  authority 
of  the  government,  but  respectfully,  and  yet  in  a  manly  way, 
asking  those  rights  guaranteed  by  treaty  and  ordinance,  guaran- 
teed by  tradition  and  precedent,  guaranteed  by  the  very  organi- 
zation of  the  government  under  which  we  live,  a  government  of 
the  people,  a  government  that  treats  it  as  an  anomaly  that  any- 
where under  her  flag  there  should  be  a  people  who  do  not  choose 
their  own  rulers  and  regulate  their  own  local  and  domestic 
artairs.  Yet  I  am  to  expect  here  that  Senators  on  the  other  side 
of  the  chamber  who  so  strenuousl}^  in  debate,  and  e\'en  in  open 
war,  asserted  this  right  of  local  control,  are  to  resist  the  appeal 
of  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  American  citizens  who  ask 
hereto  share  with  you  the  immunities  and  privileges  of  Ameri- 
can citizenship.  I  do  not  know  what  the  party  stress  maybe  ; 
I  have  not  been  disposed  to  discuss  that  question  ;  but  if  I  were 
at  all  to  take  the  part  of  adviser  to  my  Democratic  friends,  I 
should  ask  them  to  consider  for  a  moment  whether  thev  can 
thus  safely  turn  back  upon  the  traditions  of  their  own  partv, 
whether  a  momentary  advantage  ma\  not  be  more  than  lost  in 
thus  antagonizing  the  just  rights  of  this  people,  for  it  cannot 
be  made  a  local  wrong.  Wrong  is  never  local  ;  it  is  univer- 
sal. The  relationships  of  the  people  who  dwell  there  stretch 
out  into  every  neighborhood  in  all  the  states.  Every  manly 
man  who  values  his  own  rights  as  a  citizen  will  be  regardful 
of  the  rights  of  others," 


172  THE  LIFE  OF 

Partisanship  and  Statemanship. 
"■  The  movement  for  the  admission  of  a  new  member  into  the 
sisterhood  of  States  should  originate  with  the  people  to  be  af- 
fected by  it.  Such  movement  should  not  have  its  initiative  or 
its  impetus  outside  of  people  of  the  state  to  be  constituted. 
I  do  not  need  to  say  that  this  discussion,  if  it  is  kept  up  on  the 
plane  to  which  it  belongs,  cannot  degenerate  into  a  partisan 
discussion  ;  that  we  cannot  divide  upon  it  on  partv  lines,  be- 
cause to  consider  the  application  of  this  people  for  admission 
to  the  Union  in  its  relations  to  the  successes  or  reverses  of  a 
political  party  is  to  consider  it  from  a  level  altogether  below 
that  of  statesmanship." 

On  the  Contract  Labor  bill,  Senator  Harrison  spoke  in  op- 
position to  the  wholesale  immigration  of  foreigners  for  cheap 
labor.  He  was  in  favor  of  opening  wide  the  doors  for  volun- 
tarv  immigration  on  the  part  of  those  desiring  to  become 
American  citizens.  He  also  spoke,  at  one  time,  against  for- 
eign ownership  of  American  soil.  He  strongly  condemned 
the  practice  of  foreigners  securing  large  bodies  of  land  in  the 
West,  excluding  actual  settlers.  He  faxored  the  Hlair  Iiill, 
which  provided  for  aid  to  common  schools  on  the  basis  of 
illiteracy.  He  proposed  amendments  to  the  bill  which  were 
adopted,  lie  voted  for  the  bill.  He  voted  for  the  Civil  Ser- 
vice Reform  bill.  He  voted  for  the  TariH'  Commission.  In 
short  Mr,  Harrison's  record  while  in  the  United  States  Senate 
was  that  of  an  honest,  able,  laborious,  faithful  Republican 
Senator.  He  made  no  speech,  cast  no  vote,  oflered  no  bills, 
amendments,  or  suggestions,  in  committee  or  Senate,  that  were 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  173 

not  in  strict  harmony  with  the  principles  of  American  liberty, 
so  rooted  and  grounded  in  him  from  a  boy. 

His  term  expired  March  4,  1887.  The  legislature  that 
was  to  choose  his  successor  was  elected  in  1SS6.  It  was  a 
close  contest,  dining  which  the  Republicans  were  more  dis- 
couraged than  hopeful.  But  Mr.  Harrison  was  never  dis- 
couraged in  any  fight.  He  was  cheerful  and  hopeful,  and  led 
whei'e  others  almost  feared  to  follow.  The  result  Justified  his 
efforts.  The  Republicans  carried  the  state  by  an  average 
majority  of  4,530 ;  while  the  legislative  majority  was  9,580. 
But  the  Democratic  legislature  of  1884-5  ^^^'^  ^^  gerryman- 
dei-ed  the  state  that  the  result  of  the  election  of  1886  was  that 
the  Democrats  had  a  majority  on  joint  ballot  of  two.  This 
was  obtained  bv  the  unseating  of  one  Republican  Senator. 
The  following,  taken  from  the  Political  Ha7td-Book  of  Itidi- 
ana  for  1888^  indicates  the  balloting  for  United  States  Sena- 
tor : 

"1887,  February  2. —  Hon.  David  Turpie  (Democrat)  was 
declared  by  one  of  the  two  presiding  officers  of  the  Conven- 
tion, chosen  for  six  years  from  March  3,  18S7,  to  succeed  Hon. 
Benjamin  Harrison  as  a  Senator  of  the  United  States  from 
Indiana.  The  other  presiding  officer  declared  that  no  one 
had  received  a  majority  of  the  legal  votes  cast  and  no  person 
was  elected  on  the  sixteenth  ballot.  Governor  Gray,  how- 
ever, gave  Mr.  Turpie  a  certificate  of  election. 

"The  first  vote  in  each  house,  January  18,  was:  Senate  — 
Benjamin  Harrison,  18;  Turpie,  32.  House — Harrison,  53  ; 
Turpie,  43  ;  Jason  H.  Allen  (Labor),  4. 


174 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON, 


"  The  votes  in  joint  convention  were 


NAMES. 

*j 

■e 

■a 

J3 

i 

i 

i 

0 

4 

1 

«3 

■£ 

X 

S 

Benjamin  Harrison... 

7' 

71 

71 

7' 

7' 

70 

70 

7« 

71  :  70 

70 

68 

10 

70 

Uavid  Turpie 

75 

7S 

75    75 

75 

74  74 

75 

75 

74 

74 

72 

37 

'4 

74 

74 

Jason  H.  Allen 

4 

4  1    4  j    4      4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

3 

4 

4 

76 



1 1        ' — " 

— . 





— - 



— 

— 









Total 

'SO 

150  1501 150  150 

148 

148 

■50 

'5° 

148 

148 

'44 

40 

28 

148 

'SO 

Necessary  to  choice. 

76 

76    76    76    76 

75 

75 

76 

76 

75 

75 

73 

75 

76 

So  the  will  of  the  majority  of  Indiana  voters  was  lost. 

Mr.  Harrison  and  family  returned  to  the  old  home  at  In- 
dianapolis ;  and  they  found  more  friends  to  welcome  them, 
than  had  bidden  them  adieu  six  years  before.  His  fame  had 
preceded  him  home,  and  every  one  in  the  city,  who  took 
pride  in  the  city's  honor,  was  glad  to  have  back  the  illustrious 
citizen,  though  they  were  sorry  to  know  tliat  bis  honor,  and 
theirs,  had  not  been  magnified  by  his  return  to  the  L'nited 
States  Senate. 


Chapter  XII. 


CITIZEN  AND  CANDIDATE. 

RESUMES  THE    PRACTICE    OF    LAW CASES  A  VIEW    OF  THE  MAN  AS  A 

CITIZEN WHOM     THE      INDIANIANS     WANTED      FOR     PRESIDENT  — 

WORK     OF    THE      INDIANAPOLIS    JOURNAL OTHER     CANDIDATES 

HISTORY  OF  THE  MOVEMENT  —  THE  GREAT  CONVENTION — ITS  HIS- 
TORY—  THE  NOMINATION GENERAL  SATISFACTION  AMONG  DELE- 
GATES  ENTHUSIASM    THROUGHOUT    THE  COUNTRY  ENTHUSIASM 

AT  HOME ' '  COME  ON,  BOYS  !  " 

When  Mr.  Harrison  had  made  a  canvass  and  been  defeated, 
neither  his  judgment,  temper,  nor  daily  conduct  was  in 
tlie  least  affected  by  it.  He  went  about  his  work  as  cheerful 
and  happy,  and  apparently  as  on  unconscious  of  what  had 
occurred,  as  if  he  had  never  been  in  a  canvass  during  his  life. 
He  had  a  pleasant  word  for  all  his  friends,  an  open  pocket- 
book  for  charity,  a  listening  ear  for  stories  of  distress,  a  ready 
heart  for  every  call  for  help,  a  hearty  laugh  for  every  innocent 
jest,  an  alert  eye  for  eveiy  important  item  of  political,  govern- 
mental, or  general  news,  a  thorough  and  constant  devotion  to 
religious  duties,  a  vigilant  care  for  the  welfare  of  his  family, 
and  a  thorough  enjoyment  of  their  presence  and  company. 

Not  long  after  their  return  from  Washington,  the  home  was 
brightened  again  by  the  presence  of  the  daughter,  Mrs. 
McKee,  who,  with  her  husband,  came  to  live  with  her  parents. 
Only  the  absent  son  was  now  wanted  to  complete  the  old  home- 


i^C,  THE  LIFE  OF 

ciiclc.      l^iit,  besides   lier  Inisband,  the  daughter  brought  with 
her  another,  who  was  like  a  flood  of  light  to  the  home. 

This  was  none  other  than  Benjamin  Harrison  McKee,  then 
only  a  few  weeks  old.  A  king  never  received  a  more  royal 
welcome  to  any  court  or  country,  than  did  this  young  king  of 
the  household  receive  from  his  subjects  there  ;  for  he  began  to 
lule  the  very  day  of  his  advent  to  the  old  home  on  Delaware 
Street.  He  had  a  grandfather,  who,  though  an  American, 
rentlcred  him  royal  homage,  as  did  also  all  the  house.  As  he 
grew  up  he  demanded  this  homage  more  than  evei- ;  and  it 
was  gladly  given. 

Mr.  Harrison  quietly  resmned  the  practice  of  law.  But 
such  a  man  never  ceases  to  improve  the  Ikhu's  of  his  life  ;  and 
the  lawyer  that  returned  from  Washington,  after  six  years  of 
successful  work  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  was  supe- 
rior to  the  lawyer  who  had  taken  his  seat  there  six  years 
before.  He  had  prcjfited  by  his  experience  at  every  step. 
His  ability  and  tact  as  a  lawyer  had  been  thoroughly  tested 
in  the  Senate,  and  had  come  brighter  from  every  trial. 
His  knowledge  of  national  and  international  law  was  greatly 
increased,  as  was  also  his  knowledge  of  nations  and  men. 
But  while  he  had  sought  for  wisdom  ami  not  fame,  it  was 
given  to  him  also  to  become  more  popular.  He  had  won 
more  and  more  the  confidence  of  the  people  at  home,  as  the 
six  years  went  on  ;  and  wlien  lie  returned,  the  hearty  good-\\  ill 
and  enthusiasm  lliat  weic  manifested    were  a  constant  ovation. 

He  had  had  no  trouble  in  finding  cases  since  his  early  expe- 
rience in  law  ;  they  hail  always  come  to  him.  tie  found  them 
now  in  greater  number  than   ever.     But   it  must  not  be   sup- 


THE    HOUSE    IN    WHICH    GENERAL    AND    MRS.    HARRISON    COMMENCED 
HOUSE-KEEPING    IN    INDIANAPOLIS. 


i2 


lyS  THE  LIFE  OF 

posed  that  he  hnd  been  idle  diirincr  tlie  Congressional  vaca- 
tions of  the  six  years.  lie  was  freciucntlv,  at  those  times, 
engaged  in  important  suits. 

His  client  in  one  of  these  cases,  in  iSS6,  was  I.  xV.  \\'hite- 
head,  a  marble-cutter  of  Incbanapolis,  who  \\as  plaintitf  in  a 
suit  for  damages,  in  which  the  Indiana,  Bloomington  and 
Western  Railroad  was  defendant.  In  an  accident  in  Ilendiicks 
Count\-,  which  had  occurred  on  account  of  a  defective  track, 
Mr.  Whitehead  had  been  terriblv  broken  and  shattered  in 
liod\ .  His  claims  for  damages  were  refused  by  the  railroad, 
and  suit  was  begun,  Mr.  Harrison  appearing  for  the  plaintifl'. 
The  best  counsel  possible  to  obtain  was  upon  the  other  side, 
and  a  bitter  and  stuliborn  tight  \vent  on  for  three  weeks.  But 
Mr.  Harrison  won  a  verdict  for  $17,000  damages. 

.\t  another  time,  a  poor  woman,  living  in  the  suburbs  of 
Indianapolis,  was  coming  into  the  city  to  market,  and  while 
crossing  the  "  Bee  Line"  tracks  was  run  down  by  an  engine. 
In  that  case,  Mr.  Harrison  secured  a  \erdict  for  $i(X()00,  after 
a  hotly-contested  suit. 

In  another  case,  he  won  a  verdict  of  $10,000  damages  against 
the  Belt  Railroad  Company  for  injuring  a  man,  while  running 
at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  and  without  signalling. 

An  engineer  on  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  and  Dayton  road 
lost  a  leg  in  a  wreck,  and  Mr.  Harrison  obtained  for  him 
$10,000.  In  the  same  wreck  a  brakeman  was  injured,  but  in 
a  less  degree,  and  Mr.  Harrison  won  for  him  $3,000. 

He  often  had  clients  with  claims  against  railroads,  or  other 
corporations,  and  won  their  cases.  But  he  took  these  clients 
because  he  believed  them  to  be  right,  and  not  for  the  mere  fee, 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  179 

nor  for  the  fame  of  fighting  corporations  which  some  lawyers 
seem  to  seek  after  for  political  ends.  If  he  believed  a  corpora- 
tion was  right,  in  any  case,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say  so,  and 
champion  its  cause. 

Yet  Mr.  Harrison  was  opposed  to  the  monopolizing  tenden- 
cies of  corporations  from  principle.  He  did  not  believe  in 
any  sort  of  monopoly.  It  was  wholly  opposed  to  the  liberty 
taught  by  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States.  In  November,  18S7,  he  made  a 
speech  in  Danville,  Indiana,  upon  the  tariff  question,  in  which 
he  uttered  words  that  have  no  uncertain  meaning,  as  to  his 
position  with  regard  to  "  trusts,"  "  combines,"  and  all  monopo- 
lies. They  may  well  be  rememliered  in  connection  also  witli 
the  tariff'  issue  he  was  discussing.  He  said  :  "  There  are  one 
or  two  things  that,  in  some  respects,  are  working  against  it, 
and  one  is  this  abominable  and  un-American  system  which  is 
recently  developed,  called  trusts.  This  thing  is  running  too 
far.  It  is  un-American  ;  it  is  unpatriotic,  in  my  judgment ; 
and  you  will  notice  that  those  who  are  attacking  our  tarifl 
system,  take  their  position  behind  these  facts,  and  use  them  as 
the  ground  of  their  assault.  We  must  find  some  way  to  stop 
such  combinations." 

Such  was  this  American  man  —  always  an  American,  never 
harboring  a  contrary  principle.  The  following  testimony,  by 
a  friend  of  General  Harrison  wlio  had  been  constantly  associ- 
ated with  him  in  his  office,  though  written  a  year  later  than 
the  time  now  referred  to,  sums  up  his  character  in  just,  if 
enthusiastic,  words  :  ''I  have  been  with  him  (General  Harri- 
son)   since  October,  1S67,  and   have  been  in   his  house  often. 


I  So  THE  LIFE  OF 

aiul  cn)o)C(l  a  ver\-  intimate  accjiiaintancc  witli  him  ;  and  in  all 
that  time  I  nc\cr  heard  him  utter  an  indecent  word,  an  uath. 
or  do,  act,  or  suggest  a  thing  that  was  not  honorable.  lie  is  a 
perfect  man  of  great  intellectual  powers  —  a  religious  man. 
and  yet  active  in  all  business  matters.  He  is  the  best  host  I 
ever  saw.     Indeed  there  is  no  defect  in  him  anywhere." 

That  General  Harrison  committed  faults  is  saying  no  more 
than  may  be  said  of  any  noble  man  :  but  that  these  faults  or 
mistakes  sprang  from  inherent  defects  of  character  cannot  be 
l)elieved  by  those  who  ha\e  known  him,  or  who  know  the 
story  of  his  life.  He  was  conscientious  in  all  his  life  ;  at 
home,  in  his  manner  of  study,  in  his  profession,  in  social  life, 
on  the  stump,  in  the  Senate  —  everywhere.  No  man  ever  felt 
a  greater  responsibility  to  any  trust,  than  did  he  to  his  home, 
his  wife  and  children,  his  religion,  to  his  profession,  to  those 
for  whom  he  wrought  under  any  circumstances. 

It  is  not  strange  that  this  man  was  thought  of  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States,  when,  in  i8S8,  the 
({uestion  came  up  of  who  could  serve  his  country  best.  There 
were  man)'  others,  grand  and  noble  men,  considered  ;  for  the 
Republican  party  has  never  lacked  for  efficient  material  for 
that  great  office.  But  those  who  were  Mr.  Harrison's  friends, 
who  knew  he  was  every  way  qualified  for  the  great  office, 
joyfully  recognized  the  fact  that  he  was  surrounded  by  a  num- 
ber of  providential  circumstances  that  filled  up  every  condi- 
tion of  availability.  They  were  not  slow  to  announce  that 
fact  to  the  country.  The  Indianapolis  yournal  took  up  the 
work,  and  kept  the  State  and  country  constantly  aw^are  of  the 
circumstances.     The  admirable  and  efficient  Republican  or- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  i8i 

gaiiization  in  Indiana,  represented  l>y  the    ^ournal^  scattered 
tlie  intelligence  broad-cast. 

There  were  other  men,  older  in  their  country's  service  be- 
cause older  in  years,  whose  friends  were  urging  for  the  candi- 
dacy, and  whose  statesmanship  and  personal  worth  were  of  the 
highest  quality  ;  of  whose  special  fitness,  also,  everything  could 
be  truthfully  in-ged.  One  of  these  was  Mr.  Sherman,  of 
Ohio,  whose  political  life  could  not  be  written  without  writing 
the  history  of  the  Republican  party,  giving  an  account  of 
every  important  measure  since  its  birth.  There  was  not  a 
part  of  the  country  that  had  not  been  afiected  and  benefited 
by  measures  that  John  vSherman  had  originated,  or  had  been 
mainly  instrumental  in  making  statute  laws  of  our  government. 
The  simple  knowledge  concerning  the  man  and  his  work  tliat 
prevailed  everywhere  made  him  strong  before  the  people  ;  and 
there  were  many  arguments  of  great  weight  fiivoring  his  nom- 
ination. 

Another  was  the  Honorable  William  B.  Allison,  of  Iowa,  a 
man  of  great  ability  and  experience,  who  had  proved  himself  a 
man  fully  capable  of  wielding  the  executive  power  of  the  great- 
est nation  in  the  world.  Another  was  Walter  Q_.  Gresham,  of 
Indiana.  Others  were  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  of  New  York, 
General  Alger,  of  Michigan,  Governor  Rusk,  of  Wisconsin, 
and  Senator  Hawley,  of  Connecticut.  Besides  these,  were 
many  others,  all  men  of  ability  sufficient  for  the  position.  And 
besides  all  these,  was  Mr.  James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  whose 
infiuence  in  the  country  was  apparently  so  strengthening  every 
day,  that,  spite  of  his  own  protestations,  he  was  likelv  to  be 
nominated. 


i82  THE  LIFE  OF 

This  \vas  the  situation  when  the  great  convention  of  iS88 
met  in  Chicago,  on  the  19th  of  June.  It  was  a  day  of  great 
excitement,  and  great  expectations  among  the  Republicans 
throughout  the  Nation.  Delegates  began  arriving  the  pre- 
ceding week,  and  it  was  already  evident  that  the  contest 
among  the  friends  of  the  candidates  was  to  l:)e  close.  Dele- 
gations of  the  diflerent  states  established  their  headquarters  at 
the  great  hotels,  and  advertised  the  same  by  placards  and  flags  ; 
and  flags  and  bunting  were  seen  everywhere  in  the  city,  and 
all  gave  evidence  of  some  remarkable  event  to  take  place. 

The  19th  came,  and,  at  the  appointed  hour,  the  vast  hall 
was  crowded  with  more  than  eight  thousand  people.  It  was 
several  davs  before  the  real  work  of  the  convention  began, 
l^'inally,  the  permanent  organization  was  complete.  The  per- 
manent chairman  was  judge  M.  M.  Estee,  of  California. 
Al)out  his  table  were  his  advisers  and  the  secretaries.  (Grouped 
in  an.outei-  circle  were  distinguished  men,  one  of  the  most 
noticeable  of  whom  was  John  C.  Fremont,  the  first  camlidate 
for  President  of  tlie  I'nited  States  nominated  by  tlie  Kepubli- 
can  party,  who  was  introduced  to  the  convention,  and  matle  a 
brief  address  the  first  day.  Arranged  on  either  side,  behiiul 
long  tables,  was  the  large  corps  of  reporters  with  their  paper 
and  i)eucils.  Ik-hintl  this  large  platform,  on  which  so  many 
were  seated,  beginning  two  or  thiee  steps  above  it,  and  halt- 
circling  it,  was  a  tier  of  seats  tlie  width  of  the  hall,  and  run- 
ning upward  and  l)ackwar(l,  until  a  large  number  of  seats 
were  tilled  with  people.  Abow  tliat,  and  extending  farther 
back  and  fartlier  toward  the  front,  was  a  gallery  —  larger  than 
the   one   below.      Before    the    ihaiinian    was    the    -'parquet," 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  183 

where  more  than  eight  hundred  delegates  sat,  the  delegates  of 
each  State  sitting  together.  Behind  the  parquet  was  a  vast 
tier  of  seats,  and  all  were  full  of  people.  There  were  three 
large  galleries  above  that ;  there  were  three  on  each  side  of  the 
hall.  And  all  the  seats  were  full.  And  so  the  great  conven- 
tion began  its  work. 

On  Thursday  morning,  Mr.  McKinley,  of  Ohio,  read  the 
platform  which  had  been  prepared  by  the  Committee  on  Reso- 
lutions. The  platform  was  prepared  by  men  whose  hearts 
were  full  of  Republican  history  and  principles.  Mr.  McKinley 
himself  was  there  as  one  of  the  champions  of  the  claims  of 
the  Honorable  John  Sherman,  wdio  expected  to  win,  if  he 
won  at  all,  by  virtue  of  his  embodiment  of  Republican  princi- 
ples, and  not  through  aiiy  personal  eulogies  that  might  be 
passed  upon  him.  His  supporters,  as  well  as  those  of  Mr. 
Harrison,  were  charged  more  with  the  magnetism  of  patriotic 
feelings  than  that  of  blind  devotion  to  their  choice,  but  based 
on  those  feelings  was  that  enthusiasm  for  their  choice  that  rose 
to  more  sublime  heights  than  the  enthusiasm  of  mere  hero- 
worshipers  can  attain.  Such  men  prepared  the  platform, 
and  as  word  by  word  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  McKinley,  it 
was  to  all  hearts  like  the  echo  of  the  days  of  '56  and  '60  ;  and 
to  the  older  men,  the  stirring  days  of  '40.  Whenever  reference 
was  made  to  American  liberty,  and  its  defense  ;  to  American 
principles,  and  their  defense  ;  to  American  labor  and  homes, 
and  their  defense  and  protection,  the  mighty  shout  of  all  the 
people  rose  up  "like  the  swelling  sea,"  marking  out  the  line 
along  which  the  subsequent  choice  was  to  be  made,  and  pre- 
saging defeat  to  all  contemners  of  those  principles. 


i84  THE  LIFE  OF 

One  noticeable  feature  of  the  convention  was  the  manner  of 
its  cheering.  There  were  two  spirits  abroad  in  the  hirge 
audience.  One  manifested  itself  by  arrangement  and  method 
whenever  favorite  names  were  mentioned  for  the  nomination. 
It  was  sincere  and  enthusiastic,  ])ut  not  spontaneous  ;  it  was 
loud,  but  not  deep  and  magnetic.  Its  tendency  was  to  division 
and  bitterness,  and  had  the  Republicans  of  that  convention 
been  less  patriotic  than  they  were,  a  sadder  ending  might  ha\e 
been  its  fate.  The  other  spirit  manifested  itself  at  unexpected 
moments,  and  always  on  patriotic  calls.  No  word  nor  act 
could  call  it  fortli.  until  that  word  or  act  was  American,  in  a 
distinctive  sense,  ai  d  then  the  slightest  word  or  act  was  like  a 
spark  to  powder.  Once  while  the  people  were,  impatiently 
or  patiently,  waiting  for  something  to  be  done,  the  band  played 
some  lively  airs,  as  if  to  entertain  and  keep  the  clamor  down 
imtil  business  should  begin,  but  not  the  slightest  attention  was 
paid  to  it,  until  th(,'  moment  the  notes  of  "  America  "  were 
struck,  then  the  people  ceased  their  confusion  ami  cheered 
heartily  and  enthusiastically.  There  was  no  arrangement,  no 
method,  in  this  spirit's  manifestations.  It  seemetl  to  lie  dor- 
mant while  the  people  were  wholly  absorbed  in  mere  matters 
and  mo\ements  of  policy,  that  sometinies  went  on  before  their 
eyes. 

At  last  it  was  announced  that  presentation  of  candidates  was 
in  order.  Tiie  roll-call  of  states  began,  and  those  states  having 
names  to  present,  responded  as  called.  Coimecticut  was  called, 
and  through  Mr.  Warner,  of  that  delegation,  presented  the 
name  of  Joseph  R.  Hawley,  as  candidate  for  nomination  for 
President  of  the  United  States.     The  next  State  that  responded 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  *  185 

was  Illinois,  who  through  the  Honorable  Leonard  Swett,  pre- 
sented the  name  of  Walter  Q.  Gresham  ;  for,  though  Judge 
Gresham  then  had  his  home  nominally  in  his  native  state,  his 
duties  had  compelled  his  residence  for  some  time  to  be  in 
Chicago.  Mr.  Swett  was  the  same  who  presented  the  name 
of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  i860,  and  many  memories  were  stirred 
up  by  the  incident.     Next  came  Indiana. 

When  that  State  was  called,  Colonel  Thompson  rose  and 
announced  that  ex-Governor  Albert  G.  Porter  would  present 
the  choice  of  Indiana.  So  Governor  Porter,  the  former 
law-partner  of  Benjamin  Harrison,  went  to  the  platform,  and 
in  the  following  eloquent  words,  presented  the  name  of  Benja- 
min Harrison  for  nomination  : 

"  J/r.  CJiairJuan  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 
When  in  1S80  Roscoe  Conkling  visited  Indiana  to  take  part  in 
the  memorable  canvass  of  that  year,  he  was  asked  on  every 
hand,  '  How  will  New  York  go  at  the  Presidential  election?' 
'  Tell  me,'  he  replied,  •  how  Indiana  will  go  in  October, 
and  I  will  tell  vou  how  New  York  will  go  in  November.' 
In  October,  Indiana's  majority  of  7,000  for  the  Republican 
candidate  for  governor  informed  the  country  how  she  woukl 
go,  and  New  York  and  the  Nation  echoed  her  October  voice. 
As  in  1880,  Indiana  held  the  key  of  the  position,  so,  although 
not  an  October  State  now,  she  seems  to  hold  the  key  of  the 
position  as  before.  Indiana  is  always  called  a  doubtful  state, 
but  when  the  Republican  party  lias  thoroughly  organized, 
when  its  preparatory  work  has  been  done  well,  and  when 
the  spirit  of  the  Republican  masses  is  kindled  into  a  flame, 
he  seldom  fails  to  elect  Republican  candidates.     There  never 


i86  THE  LIFE  OF 

was  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  Republican  party  in  Indiana 
when  it  was  more  thoroughly  organized.  There  never  was 
a  time  when  the  preparatory  work  of  the  campaign  had 
been  better  done.  There  never  was  a  time  w'hen  the  Re- 
l)ul)lican  masses  were  more  thoroughly  alive  and  intent  upon 
victory  ;  and  give  us  General  Benjamin  Harrison,  give  him 
your  commission  to  be  a  candidate,  and  the  Republicans  will 
fall  into  line  and  move  forward  steadily  to  victory.  The 
Democracy  of  Indiana  have  been  disappointed  by  the  failure 
of  the  St.  Louis  Convention  to  put  in  nomination  an  Indiana 
candidate  on  their  National  ticket.  There  is  a  tide  in  the 
aHairs  of  parties  as  well  as  of  men,  that,  taken  at  the  flood, 
leads  on  to  fortune.  Indiana's  present  condition  is  the 
Republican  party's  opportunity,  if  we  have  an  Indiana  candi- 
date, the  choice  of  her  delegated  people.  I  speak  the  unani- 
mous voice  of  the  delegation  from  Indiana  when  I  announce 
that  he  is  Indiana's  candidate. 

"Benjamin  Harrison  came  to  Indiana  in  1S54,  at  the  age  ot 
twenty-one.  He  came  poor  in  purse,  but  rich  in  resolution.  No 
one  ever  heard  him  make  reference  to  the  names  of  his  ances- 
tors. South  of  the  line  he  mounted  the  back  of  prosperity  with- 
out the  aid  of  stirrup.  The  hospitality  of  his  ancestors  had  given 
their  property  to  those  whom  they  had  .served,  and  the  core 
had  gone  to  the  people,  the  rind  to  themselves  and  families. 
On  his  arrival  in  the  State  he  immediately  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  law,  and  at  once  achieved  success.  Amplitude  ot 
preparation,  large  views  of  questions,  the  widest  knowledge  ot 
his  profession  that  could  be  accpiired  in  such  a  time,  distin- 
guished him,  and  he  rose  rapidl}'  in  his  profession.     He  leaned 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  1S7 

upon  no  man's  arm  for  aid.  Modest  and  self-confident,  he 
seemed  to  say,  'I  am  an  honest  tub  that  stands  on  its  own 
bottom.'  Everybody  perceived  that  in  web  and  woof  he  was 
of  heroic  stutl'.  While  practicing  his  profession,  the  great 
rebellion  raised  its  hand  to  strike  down  the  LTnion.  Relin- 
quishing his  profession,  he  took  his  sword,  went  into  the 
army,  and  received  his  commission  from  Oliver  P.  Morton  as 
the  colonel  of  a  regiment.  He  marched  with  Sherman  to  the 
sea  ;  he  was  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  at  Resaca  and  Atlanta. 
He  was  not  unknown  to  the  people  of  Indiana  before  he 
entered  the  army.  Though  so  young,  he  had  been  chosen  at 
a  State  election  b}-  the  people  as  reporter  of  the  decisions  of 
the  Supreme  Court.  While  he  was  in  the  field  as  a  soldier, 
his  Democratic  opponents  took  the  oftice  from  him,  but  while 
he  was  still  in  the  field  the  people  of  Indiana  elected  him  ; 
and  at  the  disbandment  of  Sherman's  forces,  returning  home, 
he  received  his  commission. 

"On  account  of  his  eloquence  as  a  speaker  and  his  power 
as  a  debater,  he  was  called  upon  at  an  uncommonly  early  age 
to  take  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  mighty  questions  that  then 
began  to  agitate  the  country,  and  was  matched  against  some  of 
the  most  eminent  Democratic  speakers.  No  man  that  ever 
felt  the  touch  of  his  blade  desired  to  be  matched  with  him 
again.  With  all  his  eloquence  as  an  orator,  he  never  spoke 
for  oratorical  effect ;  his  words  always  went  like  a  bullet  to  the 
mark.  He  reminds  one  of  the  saying  of  the  great  Irish  orator 
and  patriot,  O'Connell,  that  a  good  speech  is  a  good  thing, 
but  the  verdict  is  the  thing.      He  therefore  always  pierced  the 


1 88  THE  LIFE  OF 

core  of  every  question  that  he  discussed,  and  in  every  contest 
in  which  he  was  engaged  he  fought  to  win.  In  iSSi,  on 
account  of  his  services  in  the  ardent  and  prolonged  struggles  of 
the  Republican  party  for  the  rights  of  man  and  the  integrity 
and  preservation  of  the  l^^nion,  the  Repul^lican  members  of  the 
legislature,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  elected  him  as  Senator  of  the 
United  States.  I  need  not  enter  into  any  detailed  account  of 
his  services  as  Senator.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  he  always 
stood  in  the  front  rank.  The  delegates  from  Dakota  can  bear 
witness  to  the  unremitting  energy  of  his  efforts  to  procure  the 
admission  of  that  Territory  into  the  Union,  when,  on  account  of 
the  fidelity  of  Dakota  to  Republican  principles,  the  Democratic 
party  resolved  to  keep  it  out.  We  all  remember  his  exposure 
of  the  civil-service-reform  sham  of  the  present  administration 
in  Indiana.  He  possesses  wliateveryou  could  desire  in  a  Pres- 
ident—  soundness  in  Republican  doctrine,  comprehensiveness 
of  mind,  calm  judgment,  firm  purpose,  unquailing  courage, 
and  a  pure  character.  The  gentleman  from  Illinois  has  referred 
to  another  citizen  of  Indiana.  A  state's  place  in  civilization 
is  always  determined  by  the  manner  in  which  she  treats  tliose 
who  have  served  her  faithfully.  I  honor  old  historic  Massa- 
chusetts for  the  manner  in  which  she  cherishes  the  fame  of  those 
who,  in  whatever  department  of  service,  have  reflected  honor 
upon  the  Commonwealth.  How  she  calls  the  rolls  of  their 
names  with  pride  !  How  impatient  she  becomes  if  any  one  is 
luijustly  aspersed  or  disparaged  !  If  (General  Harrison  were 
present  to-day,  he  would  bid  me  th.at  I  should  say  nothing 
against  the  honorable  gentleman,  the  brave  and  just  judge, 
and  heroic   soldier,  who  has   been  presented   before  him.      In 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  189 

standing  here,  I  should  have  said  in  reference  to  the  soldier, 
that,  if  the  roll  of  the  soldiers  of  Indiana  were  to  be  called 
here  to-day,  she  would  bid  me  call  them  all.  There  is  no  need 
that  I  should  endeavor  to  dwarf  any  other  man,  in  order  that 
Benjamin  Harrison  may  appear  conspicuous.  He  stands  breast 
to  breast  with  the  foremost  of  Indiana's  soldiers.  Distinguished 
also  in  civic  trusts,  heroically  faithful  to  every  public  duty, 
skillful  in  marshaling  men, —  to  the  sound  of  whose  bugle  they 
quickly  rally  and  fall  into  ranks,  —  and  who  has  never  failed 
in  Indiana's  fiercest  conflicts  to  come  out  of  the  charge 
crowned  with  victory. 

"  Standing  here  to-day  on  behalf  of  the  man  who,  disdaining 
adventitious  advantages,  has  risen  merely  by  the  force  of  his 
own  merit,  I  would  deem  myself  unchivalric  did  I  not  refer  to 
some  of  the  useful  deeds  of  his  ancestors.  We  stand  here 
to-day  in  the  imperial  city  of  the  great  Northwest.  The  name  of 
no  family  is  more  intimately  associated  with  the  Northwest 
than  his.  It  is  identified  with  the  history  of  the  Northwestern 
people.  I  shall  give  but  a  passing  notice  to  the  sturdy  Ben 
Harrison  from  whom  he  is  named,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Indepedence.  He  was  the  first  governor  of 
Virginia,  when  the  possessions  of  Virginia  embraced  the 
whole  Northwest.  When  the  Northwest  was  formed  into  a 
Territory  by  Congress,  William  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed 
secretary  of  the  Territory,  and  afterwards  the  delegate  of  the 
Territory  in  Congress.  When  the  Indiana  Territory  was 
formed,  embracing  all  of  the  North-west  but  Ohio  and  a  part 
of  Michigan,  William  Henry  Harrison  was  appointed  its  gov- 
ernor.    He  was  a  man  of  deeds.     Wliile  he  was  a  delegate  in 


I90  THE  LIFE  OF 

Congress  —  the  youngest,  pcrh;ips,  on  that  floor  —  he  procured 
the  passage  of  a  measure  by  which  it  was  required  that  the 
public  lands  should  be  sold  in  smaller  subtlivisions  than  they 
had  ever  been  before,  and  for  the  first  time  a  man  of  humble 
means  might  purchase  a  liome  from  the  government.  The 
historian,  McMasters,  in  his  admirable  history  of  the  people  , 
of  the  United  States,  has  said  of  this  measure  that  it  was  pro- 
ductive of  far  more  good  to  the  country  than  even  his  victory 
over  the  prophet  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  or  his  defeat  of 
the  British  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  While  he  was  gov- 
ernor of  the  Indiana  Territory  he  obtained  from  the  Indians  the 
relinquishment  of  their  title  to  70,000,000  acres  of  land  in  a 
single  treaty,  and  procured  their  relinquishment  of  lands  that 
embraced  one-third  of  Illinois  and  a  large  part  of  the  southern 
portion  of  Wisconsin.  He  fought  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe, 
and  by  defeating  the  schemes  of  that  great  statesman  and  war- 
rior, Tecumseh,  he  kept  open  the  portals  of  the  West  to  the 
entrance  of  the  emigrant.  The  tongue  of  the  farm  was  his 
native  tongue.  Benjamin  Harrison's  ancestors  from  the  earliest 
generation  had  been  farmers,  and  when  old  Tippecanoe  parted 
from  a  regiment  at  Vincennes,  he  said  to  them  :  '  You  will 
always  find  a  plate  and  knife  and  fork  on  my  table  and  the 
door  will  never  be  shut  nor  the  latch-string  be  pulled  in.'  In 
1813  he  left  the  Indiana  Territory  to  enter  upon  a  larger  field 
of  activity,  but  the  memory  of  his  services  was  such,  and  the 
affection  borne  for  him  was  such,  that,  twenty-seven  years  af- 
terwards, when  he  was  a  c^ididate  for  President  of  the  United 
States,  the  State  of  Indiana,  although  a  Democratic  State,  gave 
him   14,000   majority.      He  died   in  one   month  after   he  had 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  191 

entered  upon  his  great  ofHce.  The  people  of  Indiana  had 
always  associated  his  name  with  success  and  victory  and  they 
could  not  understand  the  providence  which  had  cut  him  ofl' 
at  the  beginning  of  what  they  thought  would  be  a  most  useful 
career.  And  now,  in  the  cabins  and  plain  farm-houses  of 
Indiana,  the  people  who  remember  the  old  hero  regard  him 
as  not  yet  dead.  His  spirit  walks  abroad  among  them, and  they 
expect  that,  in  the  person  of  his  heroic  descendant,  old  Tippe- 
canoe will  yet  HU  out  his  term.  And  so  to-day,  the  people  of 
Indiana  hold  in  high  esteem  the  name  of  Benjamin  Harrison, 
and  holding  in  deep  affection  the  memory  of  old  Tippecanoe, 
have  their  latch-strings  hospitably  out  to  you,  and  their  door 
ready  to  fly  out  at  your  touch  to  let  in  the  grateful  air  that  shall 
bear  upon  its  wing  the  message  that  Benjamin  Harrison,  their 
soldier  statesman,  has  been  nominated  for  President  of  the 
United  States." 

It  would  not  be  surprising  to  discover  that  the  applause  that 
rang  through  the  hall  from  time  to  time,  during  Governor  Por- 
ter's speech,  and  that  burst  into  a  storm  when  he  was  done, 
was  of  that  spirit,  partly,  which  wrought  by  some  arrange- 
ment ;  nor  was  it  to  the  discredit  of  General  Harrison's  imme- 
diate friends  that  it  was  so.  It  was  natural  that  their  interest 
should  be  personal  as  well  as  national.  Their  anxiety  was  for 
their  personal  friend  —  that//e  should  succeed.  His  patriotism, 
his  Americanism,  his  great  ability,  his  thorough  qualification, 
they  had  settled  long  before  in  their  minds.  Their  country 
honored,  benefited,  saved  from  un-American  spirit,  party  ism 
and  intrigue,  by  him,  was  a  picture  vivid  to  them  months  be- 
fore, and  it  was  to  them  but  a  long-settled  matter,  if  he  should 


192  THE  LIFE  OF 

but  win  the  race  in  the  convention.  But  the  applause  was  not 
all  of  that  spirit.  He  was  to  them  an  embodiment  of  their 
country's  principles.  Their  personal  devotion  to  him  rested 
largely  on  their  own  patriotism.  And,  withal,  the  very  name 
of  Harrison  had  a  significance  in  that  convention.  It  stirred 
up  old  memories.  And  when  it  was  known  that  in  him  dwelt 
the  spirit  of  Tippecanoe,  a  confidence  and  enthusiasm  was 
raised  that  increased  steadily  and  flagged  not  until  the  con- 
summation of  his  friends'  hopes  was  reached. 

Mr.  Terrill,  of  Texas,  seconded  the  nomination  of  Mr. 
Harrison.  Among  other  things,  he  paid  him  this  glowing, 
yet  merited  tribute  : 

"A  full  term  in  the  United  States  Senate  has  given  him  a 
grasp  of  public  issues  and  fitted  him  for  the  high  duties  of 
statesmanship.  On  the  great  political  and  economic  questions 
now  under  discussion,  his  views  are  clear  and  comprehensive, 
and  in  full  accord  with  the  principles  which  have  been  enunci- 
ated by  this  convention.  Strong  in  debate,  forcible  in  expres- 
sion, incisive  in  logic,  fearless  in  his  convictions,  his  voice  has 
been  heard  in  every  political  contest  for  thirty  years.  Time 
and  again  has  he  demonstrated  the  highest  qualities  of  leader- 
ship ;  and  the  firm  regard  in  which  he  is  held  by  the  people 
of  Indiana,  the  great  State  that  gave  Garfield  a  plurality  of 
6,000,  will  cause  that  State  to  honor  her  own  illustrious  citizen 
with  a  majority  twice  as  large.  In  the  prime  and  vigor  of  man- 
hood, free  from  the  entanglements  of  faction,  he  voted  for  the 
interests  and  principles  of  his  party.  Of  unquestioned  ability, 
untiring  industry,  and  inflexible  moral  courage,  he  stands  the 
peer  of  any  man  mentioned  for  the  high  office  of  President.   He 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  193 

will  receive  the  enthusiastic  support  of  his  party  in  every  state 
of  the  Union.  Mr.  President  and  gentlemen  of  the  convention, 
General  Benjamin  Harrison  is  a  man  that  any  delegation  in 
this  hall  may  feel  proud  to  support.  Bearing  a  name  that  has 
been  honorably  identified  with  the  civil  and  military  history  of 
the  government  from  its  very  first,  conspicuous  in  his  own 
gallant  record  as  a  soldier,  combining  intellectual  force  with 
moral  integrity,  eminent  at  the  bar,  experienced  in  construct- 
ive statesmanship  and  accomplished  in  the  art  of  government, 
harmonious  in  his  relations  with  the  elements  of  the  party,  and 
moreover  possessing  exceptional  popular  strength  in  the  State 
whose  support  is  absolutely  essential  to  success,  it  seems  to 
me,  fellow  Republicans,  that  the  hand  of  destiny  has  pointed 
him  out  as  the  man  to  lead  us  on  to  victory." 

The  nomination  was  also  seconded  by  Mr.  Gallinger,  of 
New  Hampshire.  The  following  extracts  are  given  as  indi- 
cating the  spirit  that  led  those  outside  of  Indiana  to  adhere  to 
Mr.  Harrison,  and  finally  led  the  whole  convention  to  con- 
clude that  it  made  no  compromise  whatever  of  Republicanism, 
in  giving  him  the  standard  to  bear : 

"  Projecting  myself  into  the  future,  I  see  in  November  next 
the  battle  of  the  ballots  in  this  country.  As  silently  as  the 
snovvflakes  fall  in  New  England  on  a  winter's  day,  so  silently 
will  you  find  the  ballots  deposited  for  us  in  the  ballot-box  in  a 
few  months,  if  you  give  us  that  grand  man  that  Indiana  has 
presented  ;  if  you  give  to  us  that  grand  leader  on  the  field  of 
battle,  that  man  who  has  done  credit  to  himself  and  his  State 
and  his  country,  in  the  halls  of  the  United  States  Senate,  that 
13 


194  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

iiKin  whose  public   -And   private   life    is    unspotted  and   without 
blemish — General  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Indiana. 

"  I  say  this  is  a  contest  unparalleled,  in  my  judgment,  in  the 
history  of  this  country.  We  are  face  to  face  with  our  ancient 
foe,  the  Democratic  party.  We  have  to  fight  corruption,  we 
have  to  fight  every  possible  species  of  bad  politics  at  the  bal- 
lot-box in  November  next,  and  I  say  to  you  that  if  we  are  true 
to  the  principles  of  our  party,  if  we  are  true  to  the  spirit  that 
animated  the  Republican  party  when  it  nominated  Fremont  in 
1856  and  Lincoln  in  i860,  we  will  not  fail  to  achieve  a  mag- 
nificent triumph  in  November  next.  Why,  look  at  this  grand 
party  of  ours.  Look  at  its  magnificent  leaders.  Look  at  the 
men  who  have  carried  it  to  victory  in  the  past  —  the  party  of 
Fremont,  of  Lincoln,  of  Grant,  of  Sherman,  of  Sheritlan  ;  the 
party  of  Sumner,  of  Phillips,  of  Garfield,  and  of  Blaine ; 
the  party  of  equality,  of  justice,  of  protection,  of  liberty,  and 
of  law  ;  the  party  that  rescued  our  government  from  bank- 
ruptcy in  1S60;  theparty  that  beat  l)ack  that  gigantic  rebellion  ; 
the  party  that  lifted  up  its  strong  arms  and  placed  them  under 
4,000,000  slaves,  and  lifted  them  up  to  the  plane  of  manhood 
and  citizenship.  Tell  me  that  that  party  can  be  defeated  in 
the  coming  contest!  I  answer  you  '  No,'  and  when  the  ver- 
dict is  rendered  at  the  polls  in  November,  it  will  be  found  that 
my  prophecy  has  not  been  without  truth.  I  say  to  you  here 
to-day,  give  to  us  that  grand  man  that  Indiana  presents;  give 
to  us  General  Benjamin  Harrison  as  our  standard-bearer,  and 
the  Republican  hosts,  who  never  have  fiinched  in  battle  before, 
will  go  forward  with  a  determination,  with  an  energy,  with  a 
zeal,  that  will  carry  everything  before  them,  restore  to  the  right- 
ful hands  of  the  Republican  party  the  sceptre  of  power,  that 


RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES, 

THE  THIRD  REPUBLICAN    PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


196  THE  LIFE  OF 

fur  ft)ur  vears  has  been  usurped  !>}  the  hypercritical  and  mock 
civil-service-reform  Democratic  party  that  has  been  masquerad- 
ing before  the  people  of  this  country  under  false  pretenses." 

Afterwards,  Mr.  Hepburn,  of  Iowa,  placed  in  nomination 
the  Honorable  William  B.  Allison,  of  that  State.  Next.  General 
Russell  A.  Alger  was  nominated  In  Mr.  Robert  E.  Frazer. 
Then  Senator  Hiscock  presented  for  nomination,  as  Republi- 
can candidate  tor  President  of  the  United  States,  Chauncey  M. 
Depew.  And  then  came  the  nomination  of  John  Sherman  by 
General  Hastings,  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  second  by  Gov- 
ernor Foraker,  of  Ohio. 

Here  the  chords  of  patriotism  were  swept  l)y  skillful  hanils. 
The  response  was  quick  and  tremendous.  It  came  like  the 
bursting  forth  of  a  cataract  in  the  hollows  of  a  great  cave. 
Thousands  of  voices  rose  up  in  the  prolonged  shouting. 
Thousands  of  men  and  women  stood  upon  their  feet,  and 
waved  their  hands  and  hats  and  banners  ;  and  the  great  mass 
of  human  beings  was  like  the  sea  in  commotion.  In  spite  of 
ditlering  interests,  the  vast  assemblage  liad  found  the  senti- 
ment of  harmony.  Hearts  were  in  the  shouts  ;  and  thus 
heart  answered  to  heart,  until  the  shouts  rolled  into  cadences, 
and  came  and  went  like  the  healthful  tones  of  many  bells 
ringing  the  triumphs  of  a  great  cause.  Then,  as  one  listened, 
there  were  words  in  the  harmonious  and  measured  tones,  and 
the  song,  "  Marching  through  Georgia,"  swelled  grandly  up. 
And  thus  the  enthusiasm  went  on,  and  many  minutes  passed, 
freighted  with  the  burden  of  patriotic  demonstration. 

At   last  the    tumult    and    singing    died  away,  and   left  that 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  197 

body  ot  delegates,  and  that  mighty  concourse  of  men  and 
women,  fully  awake  to  the  facts  that  this  was  a  Republi- 
can convention,  and  that  their  interests  were  all  one.  While 
it  had  been  impossible  to  present  the  man,  telling  the  truth 
about  him,  without  sweeping  those  chords,  and  while  the 
response  came  forth  as  in  his  honor,  yet  the  character  of  the 
response  demonstrated  that  no  man  could  be  nominated  by 
that  convention  who  did  not,  by  his  life  and  deeds,  repre- 
sent the  principles  of  the  Republican  party  and  our  Nation. 

Afterwards,  Mr.  Fitler,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Governor  Rusk, 
of  Wisconsin,  were  placed  before  the  convention  as  candi- 
dates for  nomination,  and  at  length  the  time  for  balloting  came. 
But  there  was  one  man  who  had  not  been  formally  named, 
James  G.  Blaine,  of  Maine,  who  yet  came  in  for  a  large 
share  of  delegate  votes.  And  there  were  others,  worthy 
men,  and  some  of  them  of  national  reputation,  loved  for  their 
loyalty  to  their  country  and  great  abilities,  wdio  also  won 
some  share  of  the  homage  of  voting.  But  including  Mr. 
Blaine,  the  confident  prophesies  were  made  on  seven  men, 
and  as  the  balloting  went  on  each  of  the  seven  men  might  have 
assured  himself  that  the  tide  was  really  in  his  fa\-or.  Then  that 
number  fell  to  six,  then  to  five,  four,  and  three.  Balloting 
continued  Friday,  Saturday,  and  Monday. 

At  the  begitming,  judging  solely  by  the  principle  of  favor- 
itism, General  Harrison's  chances  were  small.  But  one  know- 
ing the  real  patriotic  character  of  that  convention  would  know 
that  mere  favoritism  must  ultimately  succumb  to  the  nobler 
principle,  and,  knowing  the  character  and  history  of  General 
Harrison,   would    know  that   he  stood   side  by  side  with  the 


19S 


THE  LIFE  OF 


strongest.  On  Saturday  evening  his  cause,  so  tar  as  the 
promise  of  politics  was  concerned,  was  waning.  Hut  on 
Monday,   it    required  but  three  liallots  to  decide  the  contest. 

The  following  are  tlie  ballots  of  the  three  days  : 


NAMES. 


Harrison  . 
Sliennan   . , 

Alger 

Greshain  . 
Allison. . . . 
Dfptw 

Rusk 

Blaine  . . . 
Ingalls   . . 

I'helps 

llawley. . 
Filler.... 
McKinlcy. 
Lincoln   . . 

Miller 

Forakcr. . . 
Douglas. . . 

Grant 

Ilayniond. 


Total 

Necessary  for  choice. 


FRIDAY. 


So 
229 

84 


S30 
416 


2d. 


91 
249 
116 
108 


830 
416 


SATURDAY. 


3d. 


94 
344 
122 

123 

88 

9' 
16 


830 
416 


4th. 


2i5 
■35 
98 

88 


VS 


;th. 


213 
224 
142 
87 
99 


48 


827 
414 


MONDAY. 


^31 
244 

"37 
9" 
73 


40 


830 
416 


7th.        8th. 


273 

23' 
120 

9> 
76 


83 
416 


544 
iiS 
100 
59 


830 
416 


*  Withiirawn. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  199 

The  hearts  of  the  Indiana  delegation  were  somewhat  lighter 
on  Monday  morning,  when  it  was  known  that  the  tide  had 
turned  toward  their  friend.  On  the  first  ballot  of  the  morning, 
a  thrill  of  enthusiasm  stirred  their  hearts,  and  a  feeling  crept 
over  the  assembly  that  the  contest  was  nearly  ended,  and  that 
it  was  ending  well.  On  the  announcing  of  the  seventh  ballot, 
a  flutter  went  through  the  audience,  cheers,  but  cheers  that 
were  soon  checked,  as  if  the  indication  was  of  something  too 
good  to  be  trusted  ;  murmurs  of  approval,  even  by  the  friends 
of  other  candidates;  murmurs  of  concession,  and  perhaps  mur- 
murs of  disappointment  on  the  part  of  some  who  had  been  too 
strict  partisans  in  sustaining  their  favorites,  and  some  shaking 
of  the  head  with  warnings,  "  Wait  and  see  ;  it  is  not  decided 
yet."  The  eighth  ballot  began.  Almost  every  state  now  an- 
nounced accessions  to  the  Harrison  vote.  When  Pennsylvania 
threw  her  large  vote  for  Harrison,  a  cheer  went  up,  but  was 
checked,  as  if  those  who  cheered  could  not  trust  their  senses,  or 
were  determined  to  wait  the  vote  that  might  decide  beyond 
chance  for  doubt.  Tennessee  gave  that  vote  ;  and  even  then  it 
seemed  too  much  to  believe.  Nevertheless,  while  some  of  Mr. 
Harrison's  friends  sat  as  if  dazed,  or  rose  and  cheered  mechan- 
ically, enough  of  them  and  of  the  people,  delegates  and  others, 
realized  the  situation  to  make  the  great  hall  echo  again  and 
again  with  enthusiastic  cheering.  But  order  was  required, 
and  the  balloting  went  on  to  the  close,  and  it  was  ascertained 
that  Mr,  Harrison's  vote  was  544.  Then  for  many  minutes  the 
great  audience  manifested  that  it  had  found  its  voice  and  tongue. 

Since  the  balloting  had  begun,  the  contest  had  been  between 
men  all  patriots,  and  the  Republican  issue  or  principle  was 


200  THE  LIFE  OF 

not  involved,  except  in  the  consideration  of  choosing  a  man 
who  could  and  would  lead  the  hosts  to  victory.  Wlien  the 
balloting  was  ended,  there  was  no  rejoicing  of  friend  over 
friend.  Hut  more  and  more  as  the  day  wore  on,  and  a  realiza- 
tion of  the  fact  that  Harrison  was  chosen  asserted  itself,  there 
were  heard  words  of  satisfaction. 

In  the  evening  of  that  day,  the  great  convention  met  tor 
nominating  the  Vice-President,  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all  present,  and  of  the  Republican  party,  they  chose  the  Honor- 
able Levi  P.  Morton  ;  and  so  the  names  Harrison  and  Morton 
were  linked  together  as  leaders  in  one  of  the  most  important 
campaigns  for  American  principles  that  has  l)een  the  lot  of 
this  generation  to  engage  in.  General  Harrison  was  at  home, 
and  so  was  Mr.  Morton,  but  their  friends  made  the  canvass  for 
them  —  the  organization  for  the  nomination  was  not  their  own, 
except  in  so  far  as  tlie  regular  Republican  organization  in  their 
respective  states,  wliicli  they  had  borne  their  part  in  arranging, 
leacHng,  or  assisting,  had  contributed  to  that  end. 

General  Harrison  sat  in  his  office  on  Market  Street,  in 
Indianapolis,  surrounded  by  his  friends.  Now  and  then  news 
from  the  convention  was  received  and  connnented  on  —  his 
friends  showing  more  trepidation  than  himself.  While  they 
waited  for  news,  they  told  stories  or  jested.  At  the  report  of 
the  seventh  ballot,  the  excitement  rose  in  the  office  and  on  the 
street.  At  the  beginning  of  the  ciglitb  ballot,  a  nervous  eager- 
ness was  manifest  in  the  office.  "■California  votes  for  Har- 
rison!" "•Pennsylvania  votes  for  Harrison!"  The  first  on 
flie  seventh  ballot  brought  cheers.  The  next,  on  the  eighth, 
brouirht  a  tumult. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  201 

"  What  do  you  think?"  asked  a  friend,  of  Mr.  Harrison. 

''  I  feel  much  more  disturbed  now  than  I  did  when  I  thought 
it  would  be  defeat ;  there  is  too  much  seriousness  about  such  a 
position,"  he  answered. 

His  friends  were  crowding  around  him.  A  great  crowd  of 
people  were  on  the  street  below,  and  flags  and  banners  were 
flying,  and  bands  were  playing.  When  Tennessee  was 
reached,  the  tumult  broke  into  a  roar.  They  crowded  up 
stairs,  and  into  the  office.  They  took  him  by  the  hand.  The 
streets  were  full  of  excited  and  rejoicing  men  and  women. 
Indianapolis  had  started  a  many  days'  jubilee  —  the  grandest 
and  longest  it  had  ever  known. 

Thousands  took  trains  for  the  city  from  every  part  of  the 
State,  as  soon  as  the  news  was  known.  When  the  delegations 
arrived  next  day,  they  were  greeted  with  a  demonstration  that 
made  them  feel  that  the  days  of  1840  were  here  again,  in 
such  esteem  was  General  Harrison  held  in  Indiana. 

He  is  leading  the  charge  out  of  the  tangles  of  the  defeat  of 
'84,  across  the  valley  and  open  field  of  an  honest  campaign, 
and  the  regiments  follow  him  ;  and  he  calls  them  :  "  Come  on, 
boys ! " 


Chapter  XIII. 


A   CHARACTERISTIC    SPEECH. 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  A  YOUNG  PARTY — A  "  BOOK  OF  MARTHYRS  " 
—  CONDITION  OF  THE  COUNTRY  IN  1861 — WAR,  FINANCE,  DIPLO- 
MACY; GRANT,  CHACE,  SEWARD  —  ACHIEVEMENTS  OF  THE  REPUB- 
LICAN PARTY  —  WORK  YET  TO  BE  DONE  —  EqLIALITY  IN  ALL  THE 
STATES  —  PROTECTION  TO  AMERICAN  INDUSTRIES  AND  AMERICAN 
LABOR. 

On  the  20th  of  Marcli,  188S,  the  Marquette  Club,  of 
Chicago,  held  its  secoud  annual  banquet  at  the  Grand  Pacific 
Hotel  in  that  city.  On  that  occasion,  General  Harrison,  by 
invitation,  delivered  the  follovs^ing  speech,  in  response  to  the 
toast,  "  The  Republican  Party  "  : 

"il/r.  Preside fii  aftd  Gentlemen  of  the  Mar(jnettc  Club :  I 
am  under  an  obligation  that  I  shall  not  soon  forget,  in  having 
lieen  permitted  by  your  courtes\-  to  sit  at  your  table  to-night, 
and  to  listen  to  the  eloquent  words  which  have  fallen  from  the 
lips  of  those  speakers  who  have  preceded  me.  I  count  it  a 
privilege  to  spend  an  evening  with  so  man}-  young  Republicans. 
There  seems  to  be  a  fitness  in  the  association  of  young  men 
with  the  Republican  party.  The  Republican  party  is  a  voung 
party.  I  have  not  yet  begun  to  call  myself  an  old  man,  and 
yet  there  is  no  older  Republican  in  the  United  States  than  I 
am.  My  first  presidential  \ote  was  given  for  the  first  presi- 
dential  candidate  of  the  Republican  party,   and    I    have  sup- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  203 

ported  with  enthusiasm  every  successor  of  Fremont,  inchiding 
that  matchless  statesman  who  claimed  our  suffrages  in  1SS4. 
We  cannot  match  ages  with  the  Democratic  party,  any  more 
than  that  party  can  match  achievements  with  us.  It  has  lived 
longer,  but  to  less  purpose.  '  Mossbacked  '  cannot  be  pred- 
icated of  a  Republican.  Our  Democratic  friends  have  a 
monopoly  of  that  distinction,  and  it  is  one  of  the  few  distin- 
guished monopolies  that  they  enjoy  ;  and  yet,  when  I  hear  a 
Democrat  boasting  himself  of  the  age  of  his  party,  I  feel  like 
reminding  him  that  there  are  other  organized  evils  in  the  world 
older  than  the  Democratic  party.  '  The  Republican  Party,' 
the  toast  w'hich  you  have  assigned  to  me  to-night,  seems  to 
have  a  past,  a  present,  and  a  future  tense  to  it.  It  suggests 
history,  and  yet  history  so  recent  that  it  is  to  many  here 
to-night,  a  story  of  current  events  in  which  they  have  been 
participants.  The  Republican  party  —  the  influences  which 
called  it  together  were  eclectic  in  their  character.  The  men 
who  formed  it,  and  organized  it,  w^ere  picked  men.  The  first 
assembly  call  that  sounded  in  its  camp  was  a  call  to  sacrifice, 
and  not  to  spoils.  It  assembled  about  an  altar  to  sacrifice,  and  in 
a  temple  beset  with  enemies.  It  is  the  only  political  party 
organized  in  America  that  has  its  '  Book  of  Martyrs.'  On  the 
bloody  fields  of  Kansas  Republicans  died  for  their  creed,  and 
since  then  we  liave  put  in  that  book  the  sacred  memory  of  our 
immortal  leader,  who  has  been  mentioned  here  to-night  — 
Abraham  Lincoln  —  who  died  for  his  faith  and  devotion  to  the 
principles  of  human  liberty  and  constitutional  union.  And 
there  have  followed  it  a  great  army  of  men,  who  have  died  by 
reason  of  the  fact  that  they  atlhered  to  the  political  creed   that 


204  THE  LIFE  OF 

we  loved.  It  is  the  only  party  in  this  land  which,  in  the  past, 
has  been  proscribed  and  persecuted  to  death  for  its  allegiance 
to  the  principles  of  human  liberty.  After  Lincoln  had 
triumphed  in  that  great  forum  of  debate,  in  his  contest  with 
Douglas,  the  Republican  party  carried  that  debate  from  the 
hustings  to  the  battle-field,  and  forever  established  the  doctrine 
that  human  liberty  is  of  natural  right,  and  universal.  It 
clinched  the  matchless  logic  of  Webster  in  his  celebrated 
debate  against  the  right  of  secession,  by  a  demonstration  of  its 
inability. 

"  No  party  ever  entered  upon  its  administration  of  the  affairs 
of  this  Nation  under  circumstances  so  beset  with  danger  and 
difficulty,  as  those  which  surrounded  the  Republican  party 
when  it  took  up  the  reins  of  executive  control.  In  all  other 
political  contests  those  who  had  resisted  the  victorious  partv 
yielded  acquiescence  at  the  polls,  but  the  Repul)Iican  partv  in 
its  success  was  confronted  by  armed  resistance  to  national 
authority.  The  first  acts  of  Republican  administration  were 
to  assemble  armies  to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  Nation 
throughout  the  rebellious  states.  It  organized  armies,  it  fed 
them,  and  it  brought  them  through  those  years  of  war,  with  an 
undying  and  persistent  faith  that  refused  to  be  appalled  bv  anv 
dangers,  or  discouraged  l)y  any  difiiculties.  In  the  darkest 
days  of  the  rebellion,  the  Republican  party  by  faith  saw 
Appomattox  through  the  smoke  of  Bull  Run,  and  Raleigh 
through  the  mists  of  Chickamauga.  And  not  only  did  it  con- 
duct this  great  civil  war  to  a  victorious  end,  not  onl}-  did  it 
restore  the  national  authority,  and  set  up  tlie  flag  on  all  those 
places  which   had   been  overthrown  and    that   Hag  torn  down. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  205 

but  in  doing  these  things,  antl  :is  an  incident  in  the  restoration 
of  national  authority,  it  accomplished  that  act  which,  if  no 
other  liad  been  recorded  in  its  history,  would  have  given  it 
immortality.  The  emancipation  of  a  race,  brought  about 
as  an  incident  of  war,  under  the  proclamation  of  the  first  Repub- 
lican President,  has  forever  immortalized  the  party  that  accom- 
plished it. 

"  But  not  only  were  there  these  dangers,  and  difficulties,  and 
besetments,  and  discouragements  of  this  long  strife  at  home, 
but  there  was  also  a  call  for  the  highest  statesmanship  in  deal- 
ing with  the  foreign  aftairs  of  the  government  during  that 
period  of  war.  England  and  France  not  only  gave  to  the 
Confederacy  belligerent  rights,  but  threatened  to  extend 
recognition  and  even  armed  intervention.  1'here  was  scarcely 
a  higher  achievement  in  the  long  history  of  brilliant  statesman- 
ship which  stands  to  the  credit  of  our  party,  than  the  matchless 
management  of  our  diplomatic  relations  during  the  period  of 
our  war  —  dignified,  yet  reserved;  masterfid,  yet  patient. 
Those  enemies  of  republican  liberty  were  held  at  bay  until  we 
had  accomplished  perpetual  peace  at  Appomattox.  The  grasp- 
ing avarice  which  has  attempted  to  coin  commercial  advantages 
out  of  the  distress  of  other  nations,  which  has  so  often  char- 
acterized English  diplomacy,  naturally  made  the  government 
of  England  the  ally  of  the  confederacy  that  had  prohibited 
protective  duties  in  its  constitution  ;  and  yet  Geneva  followed 
Appomattox.  A  trinity  of  eflbrt  was  necessary  to  that  consum- 
mation—  war,  finance,  and  diplomacy  ;  Grant,  Chase,  .Seward, 
and  Lincoln  over  all,  and  each  a  victor  in  his  own  sphere. 
When  500,000  veterans  found  themselves  without  any  pressing 


2o6  THE  LIFE  OF 

engagement,  and  Phil  Sheridan  sauntered  down  towards  the 
borders  of  Mexico,  French  evacuation  was  expedited  ;  and  when 
General  Grant  advised  the  English  government  that  our  claims 
for  the  depredations  committed  by  those  rebel  cruisers  that 
were  sent  out  from  British  ports  to  prey  upon  our  commerce 
must  be  paid,  but  that  we  were  not  in  a  hurry  about  it  —  we 
could  wait,  but  in  the  meantime  interest  would  accumulate  — 
the  Geneva  arbitration  was  accepted  and  compensation  made 
ior  these  unfriendl}'  invasions  of  our  rights.  It  became  fashion- 
able again  at  the  tables  of  the  English  nobility  to  speak  of  our 
common  ancestry  and  our  common  tongue.  Then,  again, 
France  began  to  remind  us  of  Lafayette  and  De  Grasse.  Five 
hundred  tliousand  veteran  troops  and  an  unemployed  navy  did 
more  for  us  than  a  common  tongue  and  ancient  friendships 
would  do  in  the  time  of  our  distress.  And  we  must  not  for- 
get that  it  is  often  easier  to  assemble  armies  than  it  is  to 
assemble  army  revenues.  Though  no  financial  secretary  ever 
had  laid  upon  him  a  heavier  burden  than  was  placed  upon 
Salmon  P.  Chase,  to  provide  the  enormous  expenditures  which 
the  maintenance  of  oiu"  army  required,  this  ceaseless,  daily, 
gigantic  drain  upon  the  National  Treasury  called  for  the  high- 
est statesmanshi[).  And  it  was  tbimd  :  and  our  credit  was  nt)t 
only  maintained  through  the  war,  but  the  debt  that  was  accu- 
mulated, which  our  Democratic  friends  said  never  could  be 
paid,  we  at  once  began  to  discharge  when  the  army  was  dis- 
banded. 

"  And  so  it  is  that  in  this  timely  effort  —  consisting  first  in  this 
appeal  to  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  the  people  of  this 
country,   w  ho    responded  to  the  call  of   Lincoln  and  filled  our 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  207 

armies  with  brave  men  that,  inuler  the  leadership  of  Grant, 
and  Sherman,  and  Thomas,  suppressed  the  rebellion,  and, 
under  the  wise,  magnificent  system  of  our  revenue,  enabled  us 
to  defray  our  expenses, —  we,  under  the  sagacious  administra- 
tion of  our  State  Department,  held  Europe  at  bay  while  we 
were  attending  to  the  business  at  home.  In  these  departments 
of  administration  the  Republican  party  has  shown  itself  con- 
spicuously able  to  deal  with  the  greatest  questions  that  have 
ever  been  presented  to  American  statesmanship  for  solution. 
We  must  not  forget  that  in  dealing  with  these  questions  we 
were  met  continually  by  the  protest  and  opposition  of  the 
Democratic  party  :  The  war  against  the  States  was  unconsti- 
tutional ;  there  was  no  right  to  coerce  sovereign  states ; 
the  war  was  a  failure,  and  a  dishonorable  peace  was  de- 
manded ;  the  legal  tenders  were  illegal ;  the  constitutional 
amendments  were  void.  And  so,  through  this  whole  brilliant 
^history  of  achievement  in  this  administration,  we  were  fol- 
lowed by  the  Democratic  statesmen  protesting  against  evei'y 
step  and  throwing  every  impediment  in  the  way  of  national 
success,  until  it  seemed  to  be  true  of  many  of  their  leaders 
that  in  their  estimation  nothing  was  lawful,  nothing  was  lovely, 
that  did  not  conduce  to  the  success  of  the  rebellion. 

"  Now,  what  conclusion  shall  we  draw.^*  Is  there  anything 
in  the  story,  so  briefly  and  imperfectly  told,  to  suggest  any  con- 
clusion as  to  the  inadequacy  or  incompetency  of  the  Republi- 
can party  to  deal  with  any  question  that  is  now  presented  for 
solution,  or  that  we  may  meet  in  the  progress  of  this  people's 
history.?  Why,  countrymen,  these  problems  in  government 
were  new.     We  took  the  ship  of  State,  when  there  was  treach- 


2o8  THE  LIFE  OF 

cry  at  the  liclm,  when  there  was  imitiii}-  on  the  deck,  wlien 
the  ship  was  among  the  roeks,  and  put  loyalty  at  the  helm  ; 
we  brought  the  deck  into  order  and  subjection.  We  have 
brought  the  ship  into  the  wide  and  open  sea  of  prosperity,  and 
is  it  to  be  suggested  that  the  party  that  has  accomplisiied  these 
magnificent  achievements  cannot  sail  and  manage  the  good 
ship  in  the  frequented  roadways  of  ordinary  commerce? 

"  What  is  there  now  before  us  that  presents  itself  for  solu- 
tion ?  What  (juestions  are  we  to  giapple  with?  What  unfin- 
ished work  remains  to  be  done  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  the  work 
that  is  unfinished  is  to  make  that  constitutional  grant  of  citi- 
zenship—  the  franchise  to  the  colored  men  of  the  South — a 
practical  and  living  reality.  The  condition  of  things  is  such  in 
this  country  —  a  government  by  constitutional  majority — that 
whenever  the  people  become  convinced  that  an  administration 
or  a  law  does  not  represent  the  will  of  the  majority  of  our  qual- 
ified electors,  then  that  administration  ceases  to  challenge  the 
respect  of  our  people,  and  that  law  ceases  to  command  their 
willing  obedience.  This  is  a  Republican  government,  a  gov- 
ernment by  majority,  the  majorities  to  be  ascertained  by  a  fair 
coiuit,  and  each  elector  expressing  his  will  at  the  ballot-box. 
I  know  of  no  reason  why  any  law  sliould  bind  m\  conscience 
that  does  not  have  this  sanction  behind  it.  1  know  of  no  reason 
why  I  shoidd  yield  respect  to  any  executive  ollicer  whose  title 
is  not  based  upon  a  majority  vote  of  the  (jualilied  electors  of 
this  country.  What  is  the  condition  of  things  in  the  Southern 
States  to-day  ? 

"  The  Republican  \ote  is  absolutely  suppressed.  Elections 
in  many  of  those  States  have  become  a  farce.     In    the    last 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  209 

congressional  election  in  the  State  of  Alabama,  there  were  sev- 
eral congressional  districts  where  the  entire  vote  for  members 
of  Congress  did  not  reach  two  thonsand  ;  whereas,  in  most  of 
the  districts  of  the  North,  the  vote  cast  at  our  congressional 
elections  goes  from  thirty  thousand  to  fifty  thousand.  I  had 
occasion  to  say  a  day  or  two  ago  that,  in  a  single  congressional 
district  in  the  State  of  Nebraska,  there  were  more  votes  cast 
to  elect  one  congressman  than  were  cast  in  the  State  of  Ala- 
bama at  the  same  election  to  elect  their  whole  delegation. 
Out  of  what  does  this  come.?  The  suppression  of  the  Repub- 
lican vote  ;  the  understanding  among  our  Democratic  friends 
that  it  is  not  necessary  that  tliey  should  vote,  because  their 
opponents  are  not  allowed  to  vote. 

••'  But  some  one  will  suggest,  '  Is  there  a  remedy  for  this.?' 
I  do  not  know,  my  fellow-citizens,  how  far  there  is  a  legal 
remedy  under  our  Constitution,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  me  to 
be  an  adequate  answer,  it  does  not  seem  to  me  to  be  conclusive 
against  the  agitation  of  this  question,  even  if  we  should  be 
compelled  to  respond  to  the  arrogant  question  that  is  asked  us  : 
'  What  are  you  going  to  do  about  it.?'  even  if  we  should  be 
compelled  to  answer  :  'We  can  do  nothing  but  protest.'  Is  it 
not  worth  while  here,  and  in  relation  to  this  American  ques- 
tion, that  we  should  at  least  lift  up  our  protest ;  that  we  should 
at  least  denounce  the  wrong ;  that  we  should  at  least  deprive 
the  perpetrators  of  it  of  what  we  used  to  call  the  usufructs  of 
the  crime.?  If  you  cannot  prevent  a  burglar  from  breaking  into 
your  house,  you  will  do  a  good  deal  toward  discouraging  bur- 
glary if  you  prevent  him  from  carrying  off  anything  ;  and  so  it 
seems  to  me  that  if  we  can,  upon  this  question,  arouse  the 
14 


2IO  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

indignant  protest  of  the  North,  and  unite  our  efforts  in  a  deter- 
mination that  those  who  perpetrate  those  wrongs  against  pop- 
ular suffrage  shall  not,  by  means  of  these  wrongs,  seat  a  Pres- 
ident at  Washington,  to  secure  the  federal  patronage  in  a  state, 
we  shall  have  done  much  to  bring  this  wrong  to  an  end.  But 
at  least,  while  we  are  protesting  by  representatives  from  our 
vState  Department  at  Washington,  against  wrongs  perpetrated 
in  Russia  against  the  Jew,  and  in  our  popular  assemblies  here 
against  the  wrongs  which  England  has  inflicted  upon  Ireland, 
shall  we  not,  in  reference  to  this  gigantic  and  intolerable  wrong 
in  oiu"  own  country,  as  a  party,  lift  up  a  stalwart  and  deter- 
mined protest  against  it? 

"But  some  of  these  independent  journalists,  about  which  our 
friend  MacMillan  talked,  call  this  the  '  bloody  -shirt.'  They 
say  we  are  trying  to  revive  the  strife  of  the  war,  to  rake  over 
the  extinct  embers,  to  kindle  tlie  fire  again.  I  want  it  under- 
stood that,  for  one,  I  have  no  quarrel  with  the  South  for  what 
took  place  between  1861  and  1865.  I  am  willing  to  forget 
that  they  were  rebels  ;  at  least,  as  soon  as  they  are  willing  to 
forget  it  themselves,  and  tliat  time  does  not  seem  to  have  come 
yet  to  them.  But  our  complaint  is  against  what  was  done  in 
1884,  not  against  what  was  done  during  the  war.  Our  com- 
plaint is  against  what  will  be  done  this  year,  not  what  was 
(lone  l)ctwccn  1S61  and  1865.  No  bloody  sliirt  —  tiiough  that 
cry  never  had  any  terrors  for  me.  I  believe  we  greatly  under- 
estimate the  importance  of  l)ringing  the  issue  to  the  front,  and, 
with  that  oft-time  Republican  courage  and  outspoken  fidelity 
to  truth,  denouncing  it  the  land  over.  If  we  cannot  do  anv- 
thing  else,  we  can  either  make  these  people  ashamed  of  this 


212  THE  LIFE  OF 

outrage  against  tlic  Inillot,   or   make    the    wcjilcl    ashamed    of 
them. 

"  There  is  another  question  to  which  the  Republican  party 
has  committed  itself,  and  on  the  line  of  which  it  has  accom- 
plished, as  I  believe,  much  for  the  prosperity  of  this  ccnmtry. 
I  believe  the  Republican  party  is  pledged,  and  ought  to  be 
pledged,  to  the  doctrine  of  the  protection  of  American  indus- 
tries and  American  labor.  I  believe  that  in  so  far  as  our  native 
inventive  genius,  which  seems  to  have  no  limit  in  our  pro- 
ductive forces,  can  supply  the  American  market,  we  ought  to 
keep  it  for  ourselves.  And  yet  this  new  captain  on  the  bridge 
seems  to  congratulate  himself  on  the  fact  that  the  voyage  is 
still  prosperous,  notwithstanding  the  change  of  commanders  ; 
who  seems  to  forget  tliat  the  reason  that  the  voyage  is  still 
prosperous  is  because  the  course  of  the  ship  was  marked  out 
and  the  rudder  tied  down  before  he  went  on  the  bridge.  He 
has  attempted  to  take  a  new  direction  since  he  has  been  in 
command,  with  a  \  iew  of  changing  the  sailing  course  of  the 
(jjd  craft,  but  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  he  has  made  the  mistake 
of  mistaking  the  flashlight  of  some  British  light-house  for  the 
light  of  day.  I  do  not  intend  here  to-night  in  this  presence  to 
tliscuss  this  tarifl'  (jucstion  in  an\  detail.  I  only  \vant  to  say 
that  in  the  passage  of  what  is  now  so  llippantlv  called  tlie  war 
lariil",  to  raise  revenue  to  carry  on  the  war  out  of  the  protect- 
i\c  duties  wliich  were  then  lexied,  there  lias  come  to  this  coun- 
Irv  a  prospcrit\-  and  (le\cloi)nicnt  which  would  ha\e  l)een  im- 
possible witliout  il,  and  that  a  re\ersal  of  this  policy  now,  at 
the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Cleveland,  according  to  the  line  of  the 
blind  statesman  from  Texas  (Mr.  Mills),  would  be  to  stay  and 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  213 

interrupt  this  march  of  prosperity  on  which  we  have  entered. 
I  am  one  of  those  uninstructed  political  economists  that  have 
an  impression  that  some  things  may  be  too  cheap  ;  that  I  can- 
not find  myself  in  full  sympatliy  with  this  demand  for  cheaper 
coats,  which  seems  to  me  necessarily  to  involve  a  cheaper 
man,  or  woman,  under  the  coat.  I  belle\e  it  is  true  to-day 
that  we  have  many  things  in  this  countr}-  that  are  too  cheap  ; 
because,  whenever  it  is  proved  that  the  man,  or  woman,  who 
produces  an\  article  cannot  get  a  decent  living  out  of  it,  then 
it  is  too  cheap. 

"But  I  have  not  intended  to  discuss  in  detail  any  of  these 
questions  with  which  we  have  grappled,  upon  wdiich  we  have 
proclaimed  a  policy,  or  which  we  must  meet  in  the  near  future. 
I  am  only  here  to-night  briefly  to  sketch  to  you  the  magnificent 
career  of  this  party  to  which  we  give  allegiance — a  union  of 
the  states,  restored,  cemented,  regenerated  :  a  Constitution 
cleansed  of  its  compromises  with  slavery,  and  brought  into 
harmony  with  the  immortal  Declaration  ;  a  race  emancipated, 
given  citizenship  and  the  ballot ;  a  national  credit  preserved 
and  elevated,  until  it  stands  unequaled  among  the  nations  of 
the  world  ;  a  currency  more  prized  than  the  coin  for  which  it 
may  be  exchanged  ;  a  story  of  prosperity  more  marvelous  than 
was  ever  written  by  the  historian  before.  This  is,  in  brief,  an 
outline  of  the  magnificent  way  in  which  the  Republican  party 
has  wrought.  It  stands  to-day  for  a  jDure,  equal,  honest  ballot 
the  country  over.  It  stands  to-day,  without  prejudice  or 
malice,  the  well-wisher  of  every  state  in  this  Union  ;  disposed 
to  fill  all  the  streams  of  the  South  with  prosperity,  and  demand- 
ing only  that  tlie  terms  of  the  surrender  at   Appomattox   shall 


214  THE  LIFE  OF 

be  complied  with.  When  that  magnificent  act  of  clemency 
was  witnessed,  when  those  sublime  and  gracious  words  were 
uttered  by  General  Grant  at  Appomattox,  the  country  ap- 
plauded. We  said  to  these  misguided  men,  'Go  home'  —  in 
the  language  of  the  parole — 'and  you  shall  l)e  unmolested 
while  you  obey  the  laws  in  force  at  the  place  where  you  reside.' 
We  ask  nothing  more  ;  but  we  cannot  quietly  submit  to  the  fact 
that,  while  it  is  true  everywhere  in  the  United  States,  that  the 
man  who  fought  four  years  against  his  country  is  allowed  the 
full,  free,  unrestricted  exercise  of  his  new  citizenship,  it  shall 
not  also  be  true  everywhere  that  every  man  who  followed 
Lincoln  in  his  political  views,  and  every  soldier  who  fought  to 
upliold  the  flag,  shall  in  the  same  full,  ample  manner  he  secure 
in  his  political  rights. 

"  This  disfranchisement  question  is  hardly  a  Southern  ques- 
tion, in  all  strictness.  It  has  gone  into  Dakota,  and  the  intelli- 
gent and  loyal  pcjpulation  of  tliat  Territory  is  deprived — was 
at  the  last  electicMi,  and  will  be  again  —  of  any  paiticipation  in 
the  decision  of  national  questions,  solely  because  the  prevail- 
ing sentiment  of  Dakota  is  Republican.  Not  only  that,  but 
this  disregard  of  purity  and  iioncsty  in  our  elections  in\aded 
Ohio  in  an  attempt  to  seize  tlie  United  States  Senate,  by 
cheating  Joiui  Sherman,  that  gallant  statesman,  out  of  liis  seat 
in  the  Senate.  And  it  came  here  to  Illinois  in  an  attempt  also 
to  defeat  that  man  whom  I  loved  so  much,  John  A.  Logan, 
out  of  his  seat  in  the  United  Slates  Senate.  And  it  has  come 
into  our  own  State  (Indiana)  b}'  tally-sheet  frauds,  counnitted 
by  iudi\iduals.  it  Is  true,  but  justified  and  defended  by  the 
Democratic  party  of  the  State,  in  an  attempt  to  cheat  us  all  out 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 


31^ 


of  our  fair  election  majorities.  It  was,  and  it  is,  a  question  that 
lies  over  every  other  question,  for  every  other  question  must  be 
submitted  to  this  tribunal  for  decision  ;  and  if  the  tribunal  is 
corrupt,  why  shall  we  debate  questions  at  all  ?  Who  can 
doubt  whether,  in  defeat  or  victory,  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past, 
taking  high  ground  upon  all  these  questions,  the  same  stirring 
cause  that  assembled  our  party  in  the  beginning  will  yet  be 
found  drawing  like  a  great  magnet  the  young  and  intelligent 
moral  elements  of  our  country  into  the  Republican  organiza- 
tion? Defeated  once,  we  are  ready  for  this  campaign  which  is 
impending,  and  I  believe  that  the  great  party  of  i860  is  gath- 
ering together  for  the  coming  election,  with  a  force  and  a  zeal 
and  a  resolution  that  will  inevitably  carry  it  —  under  that 
standard  bearer  who  may  be  chosen  here,  in  June  —  to  victory 
in  November." 


Chapter  XIV. 


RECORD  !N  SPEECHES. 

THE  PRINCIPLE  OF  CONTROL  BY  THE  MAJORITY  THE  CORNER-STONE  OF 
AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT  —  DEMOCRATIC  SLANDERS  —  TARIFF  UT- 
TERANCES—  A  CRUEL  PAGE  IN  OUR  HISTORY —  PRINCIPLE  OF  THE 
DEPENDENT  PENSION  BILL  —  THE  ADMISSION  OF  DAKOTA  TO  THE 
UNION  —  DISCOURAGED  REPUBLICANS  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA  — 
TENURE-OF-OFFICE    ACT,    AND    THE    DEMOCRATIC    STAR   CHAMBER  — 

CIVIL    SERVICE    COMMISSION  —  SEA-COAST    DEFENSE  PLACES  FOR 

THE   SURPLUS A  PLEA  FOR  THE  UNION  OF  TEMPERANCE  FORCES  — 

HOME    RULE    IN    IRELAND  —  WHY  A  CHANGE  OF  ADMINISTRATION    IS 
DESIRABLE. 

The  following  is  from  a  speech  delivered  at  Detroit,  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1 888  : 

"The  bottom  principle  —  sometimes  it  Is  calletl  the  corner- 
stone, sometimes  the  foundation  of  our  structure  of  govern- 
ment—  is  the  principle  of  control  by  the  majority.  It  is  more 
than  the  corner-stone  or  foundation.  The  structure  is  a  mono- 
lith, one  from  foundation  to  apex,  and  that  monolith  stands  for 
and  is  this  principle  of  government  by  majorities,  legally 
ascertained  by  constitutional  methods.  Everything  else  about 
our  government  is  appendage,  is  ornamentation 

"  The  ec[uality  of  the  ballot  demands  that  our  apportionments 
in  the  states  for  legislative  and  congressional  purposes,  shall  be 
so  adjusted  that  there  shall  be  equalitv  in  the  influence  and  the 
power  of  every  elector,  so  that  it  will   not  be  true  anywhere 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  217 

that  one  man  counts  two  or  one-and-a-half,  and  some  other 
man  counts  only  one-half.  ...... 

"The  question  of  a  free  and  equal  ballot  is  the  dominant 
question.  It  lies  at  the  foundation  of  our  government,  embrac- 
ing all  others,  because  it  involves  the  question  of  a  free  and 
fair  tribunal,  to  which  every  question  shall  be  submitted  for 
arbitrament   and    final  determination.         .... 

"  Why  is  it  to-day  that  we  have  legislation  threatening  the 
industries  of  this  country?  Why  is  it  that  the  paralyzing 
shadow  of  free  trade  falls  upon  the  manufacturers  and  upon  the 
homes  of  our  laboring  classes.^  It  is  because  the  laboring  vote 
in  the  Southern  States  is  suppressed." 


"  But  our  Democratic  friends,  in  1884,  supplem^ted  their 
complaint  that  we  had  too  much  money  in  the  Treasury,  with 
the  further  suggestion,  apparently  a  little  paradoxical,  that 
there  was  not  enough  —  that  some  of  it  had  been  made  away 
with.  Slanderous  and  vague  imputations  upon  the  integrity 
of  those  who  were  disbursing  public  money,  as  a  class,  were 
freely  indulged  ;  they  did  not  know  who,  but  somebody  — they 
did  not  know  where,  but  somewhere.  They  professed  their 
inability  to  give  a  bill  of  particulars  until  the  books  were 
turned  over  to  them.  Well,  the  books  have  been  turned  over, 
and  the  cash  has  been  counted.  The  balances  have  been  veri- 
fied, and  the  result  has  been  an  unwilling  but  magnificent 
tribute  to  the  integrity  and  intelligence  with  which  the  public 
artairs  have  been  managed.  The  malicious  charges  against 
the  integrity  of  Republican  officials  have  been  disproved.  The 
instances  of  defalcations  have  been  rare,  and  the  per  cent,  of 


2i8  THE  LIFE  OF 

loss  exceedingly  small  —  smaller  than  under  anv  Deniocratic 
administration.  An  attempt  has  been  made,  in  a  recent  pub- 
lication issued  by  the  Democratic  Congressional  Committee,  to 
support  the  slanders  of  the  last  campaign.  It  is  only  propping 
up  one  lie  against  another." 


"•It  is  not  my  purpose  at  this  time  to  discuss  the  particular 
tarill'  measures  proposed  by  Mr.  Morrison  and  Mr.  Randall, 
01-,  indeed,  the  general  ciucstion  of  tiic  taritf.  I  l)cHeve  tliat 
the  taritr  duties  should  have  regard,  not  onlv  to  n-venue  to  be 
raised,  but  to  the  interest  of  our  American  producers,  and 
especially  of  our  American  workmen.  It  is  clear  to  my  mind 
that  free  trade,  or  a  taritl"  for  revenue,  or  for  revenue  onl\-  —  and 
these  lastwire  essentially  the  same  thing —  involves  necessarily  a 
sudden  and  severe  cut  in  the  wages  of  workingmen  and  women 
in  this  country.  I  know  it  is  said  that  his  diminished  wages 
will  have  an  enlarged  purchasing  power,  that  after  he  has  sub- 
mitted to  a  cut  of  from  lltteen  to  tiiirt\'  per  cent,  in  liis  wages, 
what  lie  has  left  will  still  buy  as  much  as  before.  But  all  this 
is  speculation  ;  the  workman  has  no  indemnifying  bond,  onl\ 
a  philosopher's  forecast.  The  question  must  be  settled  by  the 
intelligent  workingmen  of  this  country.  If  the\-  do  not  want 
protective  duties,  then  they  will  go.  If  they  think  that  it  is 
good  policy  for  them  that  an  increased  amount  of  work,  neces- 
sary to  supply  the  American  markets,  should  be  done  by  foreign 
sliops,  by  foreign  workingmen,  then  it  will  come  to  a  pass." 

Tlie   following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  by   Mr. 
Harrison  in  1S85  : 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  219 

''  I  have  never  believed  that  cheap  money,  in  the  sense  of 
depreciated  money,  was  desirable.  I  have  always  thought  and 
said  that  the  interest  of  the  laboring  and  farming  classes 
especially,  was  in  the  line  of  staple,  par  currency.  The  silver 
question  may  be  presented  in  diverse  forms.  I  am  a  bimetal- 
list  by  my  strong  convictions.  I  think  silver  should  be  pre- 
served as  a  coin  metal,  but  it  is  very  apparent  that  the  present 
ratio  between  silver  and  gold  is  out  of  joint,  and  that  something 
ought  to  be  done  to  correct  this  inequality." 

The  following  are  extracts  from  a  speech  delivered  at  Dan- 
ville, Indiana,  November  26,  1887  : 

"  There  is  not  a  man  fit  to  transact  the  duties  of  the  simplest 
vocation  from  day  to  day,  that  does  not  know  that  the  Repub- 
lican majorities  in  three  or  four  of  the  Southern  States  are 
suppressed,  are  not  allowed  to  find  expression  at  the  ballot- 
box.  I  do  not  accept  the  explanation  recently  given  by  a  badly 
reconstructed  Southern  statesman  in  his  speeches  in  Ohio.  It 
has  not  been  received  with  confidence  by  the  people  of  the 
North.  He  tried  to  make  the  Ohio  people  believe  that  the 
reason  the  colored  vote  did  not  appear  at  their  elections  for 
members  of  Congress,  and  for  President,  was  on  account  of 
the  fact  that  the  colored  man  did  not  take  any  interest  in 
national  elections,  but,  he  said,  whenever  the  '  fence  question  ' 
comes  up,  then  you  have  .a  full  colored  vote.  The  colored 
people  are  interested  in  the  fence  question  and  they  turn  out ! 
My  fellow-citizens,  that  was  a  very  grim  joke.  If  there  is 
any  class  of  voters  in  this  country  who  do  take  an  interest  in 
national  elections,  who  do  take  an  interest  in  the  question  of 


220  THE  LIFE  OF 

who  shall  be  President,  it  is  the  freedmen  of  the  South  and 
those  colored  men  who  have  sought  kindlier  homes  under 
more  hopeful  auspices  here  in  our  own  and  other  Northern 
States.  There  has  not  been  written  in  the  history  of  anv  civil- 
ized nation  a  more  abominable,  cruel,  bloody  page  than  that 
which  describes  the  treatment  of  the  poor  blacks  in  the  South, 
since  those  states  passed  imder  Democratic  control.  Why  are 
they  not  allowed  to  vote?  Because  they  want  to  vote  the  Re- 
pu])lican  ticket.  In  the  last  presidential  election,  and  this  one 
to  come,  our  Democratic  opponents  count  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty upon  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  electoral  votes  from 
the  South,  when  there  is  no  man,  not  a  fool,  who  does  not 
know  that  if  every  qualified  elector  in  those  States  was 
allowed  to  express  himself,  they  would  give  their  electoral  vote 
for  the  Republican  nominee." 


"Up  here  in  the  Northwest  is  a  fair  territory,  enormous  in 
extent,  the  one-half  of  it  apph  ing  for  admission  to  the  I'liion 
as  a  Stale  more  tlian  twice  as  large  as  the  vState  of  Intliana, 
ha\ing  a  population  of  nearU  a  half  million  of  souls  at  this 
time,  kept  out  of  the  Union  of  States  ;  was  kept  out  in  1884, 
will  be  kept  out  and  not  allowed  to  cast  an  electoral  vote  in 
1888.  Why?  .Simply  because  a  majority  of  the  people  in 
that  territory  are  Republicans.  That,  and  nothing  more. 
For  the  whole  period  of  my  term  in  the  Senate,  as  a  member 
of  the  Committee  on  Territories,  I  fought  with  such  ability  as 
I  could,  1  pleaded  with  sucli  power  as  1  coukl,  with  these 
Demociatic  SouIIktu  Senators  ;iiul  incinlieis  to  allow  these 
free  peopk'  of  Dakota  the  coinnioii  rights  ol'  American  citizen- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  221 

ship.  In  1SS4,  to  placate,  if  I  could,  their  opposition  to  the 
admission  of  that  State,  I  put  a  clause  in  the  liill  that  the  con- 
stitutional convention  should  not  assemble  until  after  the  presi- 
dential election  of  that  year.  But  now,  four  years  more  have 
gone  around  ;  again  a  President  is  to  be  elected,  and  still  that 
young  State,  peopled  with  the  best  blood  of  all  the  States,  full 
of  the  vetei-ans  of  the  late  war,  loyal  to  the  government  and 
the  Constitution,  ready  to  share  the  perils  and  Inndens  of  our 
national  life,  is  being,  will  be,  kept  out  of  the  Union,  will  be 
denied  any  right  to  cast  any  electoral  vote  for  President  by  the 
Democratic  House  of  Representatives  at  Washington,  solely 
because  a  majority  of  her  people  hold  the  political  sentiments 
which  we  hold. 

"  Some  national  questions  of  interest  turn  upon  the  coming 
election.  Soldiers,  I  believe  that  the  question  whether  your 
fame  and  honor  shall  be  exalted  above  the  fame  of  those  who 
fought  against  the  flag,  wdiether  the  rewards  of  your  services 
shall  be  just  and  liberal  and  the  care  of  your  disabled  com- 
rades ungrudging  and  ample,  depends  upon  the  election  of  a 
Republican  President  in  iSSS.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history 
of  the  American  Nation,  we  have  had  a  President,  who,  in 
dealing  with  the  veto  power,  has  used  it  not  only  to  deny 
relief,  but  to  impeach  the  reputations  of  the  men  who  made  it 
possible  for  him  to  be  a  President  of  the  United  States.  The 
veto  messages  of  Mr.  Cle^'eland,  sent  in  during  the  last  Con- 
gress, were,  many  of  them,  tipped  with  poisonous  arrows. 
He  vetoed  what  is  called  the  dependent  pension  bill.  What 
is   the  principle  of  it?     I  believe  that  the  first  bill  introduced 


222  THE  LIFE  OF 

in  Congress  embodying  tlic  principles  of  that  bill  was  intro- 
duced by  me.  It  was  prepared  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Con- 
gress was  being  ovcrwhehiied  with  pri\atc  pension  bills  for 
men  now  disaliled  and  unable  to  maintain  themselves,  who 
could  not.  by  proof,  comiect  their  disability  with  their  armv 
service.  I  said  let  us  make  the  limitations  of  the  })ension  law 
wider,  and  instead  of  taking  in  these  men  one  at  a  time,  let  us 
take  the  whole  class  in  at  once — -and  hence  this  bill.  Some 
men  sneered  at  it  ;  said  I  was  simply  trying  a  buncombe  game 
with  the  soldiers.  But,  gentlemen,  the  general  principles  of 
that  bill  liave  come  to  stay.  It  has,  with  slight  modifications, 
received  now  the  vote,  almost  unanimous,  of  the  Grand  Armv 
of  the  Republic.  That  will  be  laid  before  Congress  at  its 
approaching  session.  What  is  the  principle  of  it.^  Whv,  it  is 
something  like  the  old  rule  we  had  in  the  armv  :  as  long  as  a 
man  was  able  he  maiched  and  carried  his  own  gim  and  knap- 
sack, l)ut  when  he  got  hurt  or  sick,  and  fell  out,  we  had  an 
ambulance  to  ])ut  him  in  ;  and  that  is  tlie  principle  cml)odied 
in  this  bill  —  that  we,  the  sur\  ivors  of  the  late  war,  as  long  as 
God  gives  us  strength  and  healtii,  will  march  in  this  colunm  of 
civil  life,  making  our  own  li\ing  ami  carr\ing  our  own  bur- 
den ;  but  here  is  a  comrade  falling  by  the  way  :  sickness, 
casualty  —  not  his  own  fault — -and  he  has  to  fall  out ;  we  want 
the  great  national  ambulance  to  take  him  in.  That  was  the 
idea  of  this  l)ill.  Is  it  not  just.-^  Is  it  not  as  much  as  the 
soldiers  can  now  hope  to  secure.''  Why,  my  countrymen, 
somebody  must  care  for  these  veterans  who  stood  up  amid 
shot  and  shell  and  sabre  stroke,  but  cannot  now  trace  their 
infirmities  to  the  army  by  any  satisfactory  proof.     They  have 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  223 

fought  the  battle  of  life  manfully  since.  They  are  dependent 
on  their  work  for  a  living,  and  they  cannot  work.  Somebody 
must  take  care  of  them  ;  the  expense  cannot  be  avoided  unless 
you  kick  the  old  veterans  out  and  let  them  die  on  the  roadside. 
Somebody  must  care  for  them,  and  the  simple  question  is, 
shall  they  be  cared  for  as  paupers  in  the  county  poorhouse,  or 
shall  the  great  Nation  they  served  and  saved  care  for  them  as 
soldiers?  I  prefer  the  latter.  I  want  the  generations  coming 
on  to  know  that  it  is  safe  to  abandon  civil  pursuits,  throw 
wealth  behind  you  and  yourself  into  the  bloody  conflict  for  the 
Nation's  life  ;  that  republics  are  grateful,  and  that  its  soldiers 
will  be  taken  care  of." 

From  speeches  in  the  Senate  on  the  question  of  the  admis- 
sion of  Dakota  : 

"Mr.  President,  I  have  never  anywhere,  or  at  any  time,  here 
or  on  the  hustings,  had  but  one  voice  upon  this  subject,  and 
that  was,  that  the  man  who  in  tlie  hour  of  his  country's  need 
had  bravely  gone  to  the  rescue,  had  exposed  himself  to  shot 
and  shell  and  sabre  stroke  in  defense  of  the  flag,  was  entitled  to 
choose  his  own  politics,  and,  while  I  might  object  to  his 
taste,  I  had  no  criticisms  for  him. 

"Sir,  who  introduced  all  these  personalities?  Where  has 
this  tide  of  abuse,  which  has  been  heaped  upon  citizens  of  Da- 
kota, had  its  strength  ?  Not  on  this  side  of  the  chamber.  But 
Senators  on  that  side  of  the  chamber,  from  the  very  beginning  of 
this  debate,  have  felt  warranted  in  calling  the  men  who  had 
been  conspicuous  in  this  movement  for  the  formation  of  a  new 
state    conspii-ators,  ambitious  and  scheming  politicians  ;  and 


224 


THE  LIFE  OF 


that  course  of  vituperation  lias  run  through  the  whole  debate, 
on  the  part  of  gentlemen  on  the  other  side  of  the  chamber. 
What  is  the  distinction  between  an  ambitious  politician  and  a 
statesman?  Do  all  my  friends  on  the  other  side  of  the  cham- 
ber fall  into  the  list  of  statesmen? 

"Have  they  no  ambition  ?  I  appeal  to  the  Senators  who  have 
heard  every  word  I  have  spoken  in  this  debate,  from  first  to 
last,  whether  I  have  not  avoided,  against  strenuous  temptation, 
the  bringing  into  this  debate  of  the  private  characters  of  men 
whose  names  have  been  drawn  in  here  by  the  Senator  from 
South  Carolina,  whose  opposition  to  this  bill  has  been  so  intense 
that  I  never  regarded  him  as  within  the  reach  of  reason  or  logic. 
It  has  seemed  to  me  that  nothing  but  Pasteur's  new  treatment 
would  do  in  his  case. 

''But,  I  was  saying,  another  objection  we  met  with,  was  that 
the  people  of  South  Dakota  did  not  want  it ;  and  my  friend  from 
Missouri  (Mr.  Vest)  —  whose  absence  to-day  I  much  regret,  not 
only  because  he  is  himself  a  sutlerer,  but  because  it  puts  some 
limitation  upon  what  I  should  otherwise  say  —  the  Senator 
from  Missouri  at  the  last  session  had  been  so  foitunate  as  to  get 
two  or  three  letters  from  people  li\ing  in  .South  Dakota  —  two, 
I  think,  was  the  limit  —  one  from  a  gentleman  by  tlie  name  of 
Richmond,  and  another  from  a  lady  named  Marietta  Bones, 
and  in  order  to  satisfy  the  Senate  that  the  people  of  South  Da- 
kota did  not  want  to  lie  admitted  as  a  .Stale  lie  read  those  two 
formidable  letters. 

"He  pursues  the  same  policy  in  the  debate  this  session  :  gath- 
ering up  a  few  letters  and  pouring  them  in  upon  the  .Senate 
in  order  to  give  .Senators  a   correct   idea  of  I'le  popular  senti- 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  225 

inent  in  the  Territory.  Every  one  of  these  people  from  whom 
the  Senator  reads  letters  has  been  counted  once.  I  must 
suppose  that  when  the  vote  was  taken,  they  voted  against  the 
constitution  ;  and  if  they  did  so,  they  are  part  of  that  number 
of  6,000  that  is  recorded  against  it.  Do  Senators  think  that 
it  strengthened  tlieir  case  to  parade  these  individual  expressions 
again  before  the  Senate? 

"  I  once  heard  a  celebrated  theatrical  manager  say  that  there 
was  one  thing  in  the  way  of  stage  deception  that  the  gallery 
gods  would  not  stand,  and  that  was  to  have  an  army  of  supes 
come  around  the  second  time.  When  they  recognized  the  face 
of  a  fellow  who  had  been  on  the  stage  once  before,  that  busi- 
ness had  to  be  stopped.  And  yet,  just  that  stage  deception 
these  gentlemen  are  attempting  to  practice  upon  the  Senate 
and  the  country.  The  persons  in  South  Dakota  who  op- 
pose this  constitution  have  been  counted  once,  and  that  is 
enough.  We  do  not  want  this  army  of  supes  marched 
around  atrain." 


"  So  it  is,  Mr.  President.  The  Senator  from  Alabama,  who 
last  season  talked  so  blandly  and  kindly  about  the  admission 
of  Dakota  that  he  absolutely  persuaded  me  that  I  could  count, 
if  not  upon  his  vote,  at  least  upon  his  candid  and  kind  consid- 
eration of  this  bill,  goes  about  looking  up  some  question  of 
personal  disqualification  in  some  member  of  the  convention, 
and  that,  as  I  think,  upon  insufiicient  informati(jn.  Then  the 
Senator  does  not  like  to  adopt  this  constitution,  because  he  says 
w^e  have  to  take  with  it  the  Senators  who  have  been  elected  by 
the  legislature  which  was  convened  under  it.       '  We  have  to 

15 


226  THE  LIFE  OF 

take,'  Mr.  Picsident  !  What  lias  the  Senator,  or  any  other 
Senator  here,  to  do  with  the  (luestion  as  to  \\]\o  shall  he  the 
Senators  from  any  state  ?  We  have  to  take  the  Senator  and 
his  colleague,  and  we  do  it  agreeably  and  without  protestation  ; 
we  have  to  take  the  Senator  from  Missouri  and  his  C(jlleague, 
and  why?  Because  they  have  been  chosen  by  the  legisla- 
tures of  their  respective  states.  I  caiuiot  understantl  why  we 
shoidd  not  deal  in  the  same  way  with  Dakota,  when  she  shall 
be  admitted.  If  these  proceedings  of  Dakota  ha\e  been  such 
that  we  can  approNC  them,  then  I  sulnnit  it  is  for  no  Senator 
to  sav  here  that  he  objects  to  her  demand  because  he  lias  to 
take  Senators  whom  her  people  have  chosen.  " 


"The  Senator  from  South  Carolina  says  that  we  did  not 
encourage  the  Republicans  down  there  to  come  out  and  vote  ; 
that  thev  needed  encouragement,  and  that  the  Senator  from 
Illinois,  and  other  leaders  of  the  Republican  part\ ,  failed  to 
go  down  and  encourage  them.  Well,  Mr.  President,  they  are 
a  tliscouraged  set,  those  Republicans  in  South  Carolina. 
The\  have  ne\er  had  any  encouragement  since  1S76,  and  the 
onh-  efficient  encouragement,  according  to  their  judgment, 
was  the  presence  of  some  of  the  troops  of  the  United  States. 
We  cannot  do  that  any  more,  and  perhaps  it  never  ought  to 
have  been  done.  But  this  is  aside  from  the  question,  altogether. 
The  election  in  South  Carolina  may  be  fair  ;  everybody  who 
wants  to  vote  may  have  a  chance  to  vote  ;  all  the  talk  ot  intim- 
iilation  may  be  absolutely  false  ;  all  the  stories  of  bloodshed  and 
violence  and  red-shirted  cavalry  may  all  be  imagination  ;  all 
the  stories  of  tissue  ballots  may  be  vain  and   fraudulent.     For 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  227 

the  purposes  of  this  argument,  I  assume  that  they  are,  that 
there  is  nothing  in  them  in  the  world  ;  and  yet  I  ask  the  Sen- 
ator from  South  Carolina,  if  in  a  presidential  election,  if  in 
the  election  of  a  legislature  that  is  to  choose  Senators  for  this 
body,  forty-four  per  cent,  of  the  total  vote  in  South  Carolina 
is  sufhciently  expressive  of  the  popular  will  there  to  choose 
these  officers,  may  it  not  be  that  upon  the  mere  question  of 
voting  on  a  constitution  in  Dakota,  fifty-eight  per  cent,  is 
enough } " 

From  a  speech  in  the  Senate  : 

Tenure-of-Office  Act  and  the    Democratic  Star 
Chamber. 

"In  the  President's  recent  message,  speaking  of  the  law  of 
1867,  which  required  the  President  to  transmit  his  reasons  for 
a  suspension,  he  says  in  substance  :  '  If  that  law  were  in  force 
I  would  obey  it,'  showing  that  he  submits  himself  to  the  pro- 
visions of  the  tenure-of-office  law,  and  does  not  challenge  its 
constitutionality.  Under  that  law,  I  do  not  see  how  any  man 
can  doubt  that,  in  the  case  of  a  suspended  officer,  nominated  in 
place  of  another  whose  removal  is  proposed,  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  is  an  essential,  necessary,  and  eftective  part  of  the 
act  of  removal.  The  officer  is  not  removed  until  the  Senate 
acts  in  either  case.  He  is  an  officer  until,  by  the  confirmation 
of  his  successor,  we  change  the  office  and  place  it  in  other 
hands,  and  that  quite  as  strictly  in  law,  while  he  is  suspended 
from  the  exercise  of  its  functions,  as  while  he  is  in  their  actual 
discharge.  The  question  is  clearly  one  with  which  we  have 
to  do.     We  are   asked  b}'  the  President  to  do  an  act  which 


228  THE  LIFE  OF 

removes  a  man  from  office,  and  will  any  one  insist  that  we  are 
not  entitled  to  all  needful  information  ;   tliat  we  may  not  rightly 
consider  that  which  is  the  constitutional  and  legal  result  of  our 
act;   that  we  must  shut  our  eyes  to  the  (juestion  whether  there 
has  heen  cause  for  suspicion,  whether  the  office  has  been  mis- 
managed, whether  the   man  who  previously  held    it  has   been 
recreant   to  official  trust  —  that  we  must  close  our   eyes    to   all 
these  questions,  when  his  removal  from  office  is  that  which  we 
are  asked  to  consummate   in   the  one   case,  the   direct   conse- 
quence of  what  we  are  asked  to  do?     It  has  been  said   that  the 
tenuie-of-office  act  has  been  out  of  use.     I  shall  not  attempt  to 
repeat   the   high-sounding   terms    in    which  the  President  con- 
veyed to  us  this   information.     I    have  been   in   tiiis  body  ti\e 
years,  and  I  affirm  that  the  civil  tenure-of-office  law  has  never 
been  out  of  use.      T  affirm,  thougli    nn   colleague    (Mr.    \^o<)r- 
hees)  declared  tiie  contrary  yesterda}-,  that  a  Republican  Sen- 
ate under  a  Republican  President  put  it  to  tiie  \er\'  use  to  which 
we  are  putting  it  now.    I  affirm  that  not  once,  but  many  times, 
(and  if  he   will   spur   his   recollection,  many  of  the    instances 
will  come  to  his  own  mind),  has  this  same  retjuest   for  papers 
been  made  and  complied  with,  and   the  Senate  has  considereil 
upon   tlie  papers   the  tjuesti(jn  of  whether  there  was  cause  for 
removal.      I  can  call  cases  to  mind  when  just  such  information, 
demanded  by  a  Republican  Senate  of  a  Republican  President, 
intiucnced   my  action   and  vote    upon   nt)minations   that   were 
proposed  to  us. 

"  It  is  not  true,  Mr.  President.  The  fact  is  that  the  tenure-of- 
office  law  has  been  enforced  ;  it  has  been  continually  in  mind 
in  the  administration  of  that  part  of  our  duty  connected  with 
the  confirmation  of  officers  nominated  by  the  President. 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  229 

"  Many  of  them,  as  the  Senator  from  Connecticut  suggests, 
were  affidavits  containing  sworn  charges  that  have  been  filed 
in  the  departments.  Is  there  a  Democratic  Senator  here  who 
will  get  up  and  confess  that  he  filed  any.?  Is  there  one.''  Is  it 
not  true,  my  friends,  that  whenever  this  is  suggested  to  )ou 
you  are  prompt  to  say  :  '  I  never  went  into  the  business  ;  I 
would  not  be  guilty  of  filing  such  charges.'' '     Is  not  that  true.'' 

"  Is  this  the  great  issue  upon  which  the  Democracy  is  to  be 
united.''  I  affirm  that  there  is  not  a  Democrat  who  hears  me  — 
a  member  of  this  body  —  who  will  confess  that  he  has  become, 
or  agree  that  he  is  willing  to  become,  a  party  to  this  method 
of  getting  Democrats  into  office. 

'•It  may  be  —  though  I  would  not  impute  such  a  motive  to  any 
Democratic  Senator  —  I  have  thought  sometimes  that  there 
might  be  gentlemen,  connected  with  Congress  possibly,  or 
outside  Democrats  of  influence,  who  had  an  interest  in  help- 
ing to  hold  down  the  lid  of  the  box  in  which  these  secrets  are 
buried,  because  if  it  were  opened  it  would  show  that  they  had 
participated  in  this  work. 

"•  I  think  there  must  be  in  these  files  a  great  deal  of  matter  of 
which  the  President  is  ignorant,  a  great  many  confidential 
papers  wnich  he  withholds  from  us  that  he  has  never  seen  him- 
self. I  am  bound  to  believe  that  is  true,  horn  the  knowledge 
I  have  of  the  contents  of  some  of  them,  or  I  am  compelled  to 
believe  that  he  is  utterly  insincere  in  his  public  utterances  as  to 
his   methods  of  administering  the  appointments  to  office. 

"■  And  now  to  turn  from  the  grave  to  the  gay.  This  non-par- 
tisan civil  service  administration  has  turned  Republicans  out 
because  they  were  on  committees,  or  published  newspapers,  or 


230  THE  LIFE  OF 

took  some  active  part  in  campaigns.  A  friend  of  mine  sent 
me  the  other  day  this  post-office  heading :  it  is  a  little  post- 
otHce  in  Greene  County,  Indiana. 

"Mr.  Edmunds. —  A  Democratic  post-office  at  the  present 
time .' 

"  Mr.  Harrison. —  I  suppose  so.  He  was  appointed  on  July 
20,  1SS5,  and  I  believe  no  Republican  has  been  appointed 
since  that  date.     The  printing  is  as  follows  : 

'''James  H.  Quinlax,  P.M. 

"  '  Post-office  at  Lyons,  Greene  County,  Indiana.' 

"  On  this  side  (exhibiting)  is  a  picture  of  Cleveland  and 
Hendricks,  with  the  words  under  it,  '  Our  benefactors.'  I 
suppose  the  possessive  pronoun  refers  to  the  postmasters,  and 
not  to  the  public  generally.  Some  Republican  postmasters 
were,  I  understand,  convicted  of  offiensive  partisanship,  and 
turned  out  because,  (.luring  the  last  campaign,  the\-  had  a  picture 
of  the  late  Honorable  John  A.  Logan,  our  candidate  for  the 
Vice-Presidency,  displayed  in  the  office.  That  was  thought 
to  evince  offensive  partisanship,  and  without  being  allowed  to 
prove  whether  it  was  a  likeness  or  not,  they  were  turned  out. 
There  were  some  of  those  campaign  pictures  of  General  Logan 
that  I  think  a  man  might  have  raised  an  issue  on.  But  here  a 
Democratic  postmaster  is  not  guilty  of  otlensive  partisanship 
when  he  puts  on  a  post-office  letter-head  the  name  of  the 
Democratic  President  and  Vice-President  with  the  legend, 
'  Our  benefactors.'  The  Postmaster-General's  head  ought  to 
have  been  on  there,  because  that  is  a  fourth-class  post-office." 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  231 

Civil    Service  Commission. 

"  J/r.  President :  My  colleague  (Mr.  Voorhees)  mistakes 
the  issue.  The  issue  is  not  whether  it  is  an  ajjpropriate  thing 
that  there  should  be  Democrats  in  office  or  not.  It  is  not 
whether,  in  the  al^sence  of  law,  it  would  be  a  just  subject  of 
criticism  if  the  Secretery  of  the  Interior,  or  any  other  head  of 
a  department  here,  appointed  Democrats,  or  Democrats  exclu- 
sively, if  you  please.  The  question  here  is  one  of  the  admin- 
istration of  the  law,  and  a  law  that  had  a  distinguished 
Democratic  origin  ;  though  I  am  sorry  to  say  it  has  never  had 
much  Democratic  support,  and  the  fact  of  originating  it  has 
been  very  creditable  to  its  originator. 

"The  question  here  raised  is  as  to  the  faithfulness  of  the 
administration  of  the  law  ;  and  upon  the  facts  I  have  before 
me,  I  do  not  intend  to  say  that,  on  the  part  of  the  commissioners 
who  are  here  appealing  to  Congress  for  some  additional  cleri- 
cal force,  there  has  been  a  maladministration  or  a  corrupt 
administration  of  it.  The  investigation  to  which  reference 
has  been  made  is  not  yet  concluded,  and  I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  rush  into  the  discussion  of  a  case  until  the  evidence  is 
closed.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  according  to  the  facts  as 
stated  by  the  Senator  from  Kansas  (Mr.  Ingalls),  that  some- 
how or  other,  under  the  operations  of  this  civil  service  law 
and  the  rules  which  have  been  made  for  its  enforcement, 
which  have  in  most  cases  required  that  only  the  three  or  four 
leading  persons,  the  three  or  four  highest  upon  the  list,  should 
be  certified,  —  by  some  process  or  other,  this  has  been  accom- 
plished in  the  Pension  Office,  namely,  that  seventy-two  out  of 
seventy-seven  men,  who  have  been  selected  under  the  law  from 


232  THE  LIFE  OF 

lists  furnished  by  the  Civil  Service  Commission,  have  been 
Democrats,  and  that  the  other  tive  are  tbiuul  without  any 
politics  at  all. 

"That  is  true.  That  may  be  consistent  with  an  impartial, 
non-partisan  administration  of  the  Civil  Service  bureau.  It 
may  be  so.  We  shall  know  more  about  it  when  we  get 
through  witli  the  investigation  which  has  been  inaugurated  on 
that  subject.  It  is  true,  undoubtedly  true,  that  prior  to  the 
passage  of  the  civil  service  law,  both  on  the  part  of  the  Re- 
publicans and  the  Democrats,  when  they  were  in  power,  the 
great  bulk  of  the  appointments  were  made  of  the  political 
faith  of  the  person  having  the  appointing  power. 

'"•  I  know  nothing  about  that.  I  did  not  rise  to  enter  any 
complaint,  and  should  not  have  said  anything  on  such  a  sub- 
ject, except  for  references  that  have  been  matle  bv  other 
Senators. 

"If  the  Civil  Service  Commission  need  these  clerks,  as  the 
chairman  of  the  committee  having  that  subject  in  charge  assures 
us,  1  am  willing  to  give  them  to  them  ;  and  if  it  shall  be  found 
that  the  office  is  in  some  way  administered  so  as  to  give  a  par- 
tisan turn,  so  that  while  things  are  put  promiscuously  and 
fairly  into  the  mill,  nothing  but  Democratic  results  come  out  — 
when  we  liave  ascertained  that  fact,  then  it  will  be  time  enough, 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned,  to  arraign  the  commission,  and  to 
hold  them  to  that  just  responsibility  to  which  the  countrv  will 
hold  them,  if  it  is  found  to  be  the  result  of  any  maladministra- 
tion or  fraudulent  administration  of  the  law. 

"  I  desire  simpl\-  to  sa\'  that  it  seems  to  me  this  commission 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  .  233 

should  not  be  composed  of  men  who  are  supposed  to  repre- 
sent interests.  The  words  which  I  move  to  strike  out,  would 
imply  that  there  was  to  be  a  railroad  man  on  the  commission, 
perhaps  a  railroad  president  or  officer,  and  that  there  was  to 
be  some  one  representing  the  agriculturists,  some  one  I'epre 
senting  the  manufacturing  interests,  and  so  on.  If  this  com- 
mission is  to  accomplish  the  good  which  is  expected  of  it,  it 
should  not  be  made  up  of  men  who  represent  particular  inter- 
ests. We  should  not  have  there  some  one  who  understands 
that  he  is  the  representative  of  the  railroad  companies,  and 
some  one  else  that  he  is  there  as  the  representative  of  shippers 
who  desire  lower  rates.  We  shall  have  no  wise  consideration 
of  this  question,  and  no  useful  recommendations,  in  my  judg- 
ment, from  such  a  commission.  I  believe  the  President  should 
be  left  free  to  choose  men  who  will  represent  the  general 
interests  of  the  whole  country,  rather  than  to  choose  men  who 
will  stand  for  special  interests.  Therefore  I  move  to  strike 
out  these  words." 


vSeacoast  Defense. 
"  There  is  another  thing  we  want  done.  We  want  our  sea- 
coast  ports  put  in  a  position  of  defense,  so  that  it  will  no  longer 
be  possible  for  some  third-rate  power  of  South  America  to  run 
an  ironclad  in  and  put  our  cities  under  contribution.  For  the 
brutal  treatment  that  was  meted  out  to  us  by  England,  when 
our  hands  were  full  by  reason  of  the  great  civil  conflict,  we 
have  accepted  a  recompense  in  money  ;  but  no  nation  must 
repeat  that  experiment  with  our  patience.  We  must  also  save 
enough  revenue  to  put  on  the  sea  a  navy  worthy  of  this  great 


234  THE  LIFE  OF 

Nation,  aiul  capable  of  maintaining  our  old-time  prestige  on  the 
ocean.  We  will  no  longer  have  our  shame-faced  naval  officers 
creeping  into  foreign  ports  in  wooden  hulks,  the  laughing 
stock  of  all  who  see  them.  Republicans  have  been  trying  to 
do  this  for  a  good  while,  but  while  the  Democrats  had  control 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  they  refused  to  make  the  neces- 
sary appropriations,  because  they  said  they  could  not  trust  a 
Republican  secretary  to  spend  them.  Well,  when  they  got  a 
secretary  of  their  own  the  Republicans  were  more  magnani- 
mous. We  said  he  was  not  a  whit  better  or  a  whit  honester 
than  our  man  was,  but  we  are  American  citizens  ;  and  we 
walked  grandly  forward  and  gave  them,  to  be  expended  in  the 
construction  of  ships,  all  the  money  that  a  parsimonious 
Democratic  House  would  let  us  give  them." 

Speech  at  Indianapolis,  December  20,  18S7. 

"  In  connection  with  this  surplus  of  about  one  hundred  mil- 
lions a  year,  there  is  danger;  there  are  dangers  of  profligacy, 
of  expenditure,  and  others  that  require  us  to  address  ourselves 
promptly  and  intelligently  to  the  question  of  a  reduction  of 
our  revenue.  I  liavc  said  before  I  would  like  to  have  that  work 
done  by  the  Republicans,  because  I  would  like  to  have  it  done 
with  reference  to  some  great  questions  connected  with  the  use 
of  the  revenue,  about  which  I  cannot  trust  my  Democratic 
friends.  I  would  like  to  have  our  coast  defenses  made  secure  ; 
I  would  like  to  have  our  na\y  made  respectable,  so  that  an 
American  naval  officer,  as  he  trod  the  deck  of  the  ship  bearing 
the  starry  banner  at  its  head  in  any  port  throughout  the  world, 
and  looked  about  upon  her  equipment  and  armament,  might 
eel  that  she  wa  s  a  match  for  the  proudest  ship  that  walked  the 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  235 

sea  under  any  other  flag.  I  would  like  to  feel  that  no  third- 
rate  power,  aye,  no  first-rate  power,  could  sail  into  our  defense- 
less harbors  and  lay  our  great  cities  under  tribute.  I  would 
like  to  feel  that  the  just  claims  of  the  survivors  of  the  Union 
Army  of  the  war  were  made  secure  and  safe.  Therefore,  I 
have  a  strong  preference  that  this  work  of  the  reduction  of  our 
revenue,  internal  and  external,  shall  be  conducted  by  Republi- 
cans." 

A  plea  for  the  union  of  Temperance  forces  : 

"  But  to  those  more  practical  Temperance  men  who  do  not 
demand  the  unattainable,  the  Republican  party  appeals  in 
this  campaign.  If  some  of  us  will  not  engage  to  accept  the 
goal  you  have  in  view,  need  we  part  company  till  we  reach  the 
forks  of  the  road  ?  It  would  not  have  been  good  military  tac- 
tics for  Grant's  army  before  Petersburg  to  have  refused  to  unite 
in  an  assault  until  his  soldiers  could  agree  upon  the  precise 
terms  of  reconstruction.  The  first  duty  in  hand  was  to  whip 
Lee.  The  Liquor  League  is  entrenched  in  this  State  behind 
the  Deinocratic  party  and  the  legislative  gerrymander.  It  has 
levied  its  assessments  to  create  campaign  funds  for  Democratic 
uses,  and  to  corrupt  legislatures.  The  Republican  party  has 
boldly  declared  that  its  repression  must  be  shaken  ofi',  and  its 
corrupt  influence  in  politics  destroyed.  Is  not  that  a  work  in 
which  all  men  who  favor  temperance  reform  can  unite  .^  Can 
such  aftbrd  to  divide  when  that  issue  is  presented.?"  . 

On  the  evening  of  October  5,  1887,  a  meeting  was  held  in 
Indianapolis,  in    honor   of  Messrs.  O'Connor  and    Osmond. 


236  THE  LIFE  OF 

During  the  evening,  Mr.  Harrison   was  loudly  called  for,  and 
spoke,  in  substance,  as  follows  : 

"  The  hour  is  already  so  late  that  I  shall  detain  the  audi- 
ence hut  a  moment.  I  aiu  glad  to  have  had  the  opportunity 
to  iiear  the  distinguished  guests  of  the  evening — men  who  in 
the  British  Parliament  stand  for  Home  Rule  in  Ireland.  They 
have  given  me  much  fuller  information  than  I  had  before  of 
the  oppressive  character  of  the  coercion  acts.  I  was  glad,  also, 
to  know  that  the  Irish  people  have  shown  such  a  steady  and 
self-contained  adherence  to  their  rights,  and  such  steadfastness 
in  the  assertion  of  them  l)y  lawful  methods.  We  know  that 
Irishmen  liave  many  a  time,  in  the  struggle  of  their  native 
land,  and  in  oui"  figiit  in  America  for  free  government,  thrown 
themselves  upon  the  bayonet  of  the  enemies  of  liberty  with 
reckless  courage.  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  they  can  also 
make  a  tjuict  i^ut  unyielding  resistance  to  oppression  by  Par- 
liamentary methods.  I  would  rather  be  William  O'Brien  in 
Tullamore  jail,  a  mart\i  of  free  speech,  than  the  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant of  Ireland,  in  Dublin  Castle." 

Why  another  ciiange  of  administration  is  desirable  : 
"Our  Democratic  friends  are  now  inclined  to  withdraw  the 
suggestion  that  a  change  is  a  good  thing,  but  I  believe  the  peo- 
ple, in  view  of  broken  pledges  and  disajjpointed  hopes,  are 
willing  to  make  one  more.  But  if  the  hopes  of  indiyidual  bene- 
fit from  the  election  of  Mr.  Cleveland  have  been  disai)pointed, 
has  any  gain  come  to  the  Nation?  Has  its  honor  or  its  credit 
been  lifted  up.'  Ha\e  we  any  more  reason  to  be  proud  that 
we  are  Americans  ?      Has  our  diplomacy  gained   us   increased 


BENJAMIN  HARRISON.  237 

respect?  Has  patriotism  and  l()\altv  been  recrowned  ?  No, 
my  countrymen.  The  flag  has  dropped  to  half-mast  in  honor 
of  a  man  who  was  not  only  disgracefully  unfeithful  to  a  civil 
trust  before  the  war,  and  a  rebel  during  the  war,  but  who, 
from  a  safe  haven  in  Canada,  sought  by  his  hired  emissaries  to 
give  our  peaceful  cities  to  the  flames.  An  unrestored  rebel 
was  named  to  represent  this  country  at  the  court  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, unminilful  of  the  fact  that  the  Czar  was  on  our  side  dur- 
ing the  Rebellion.  The  courts  of  Europe  were  canvassed  to 
find  a  place  for  a  man  who  had  declared  the  government  he 
was  to  represent  a  "  bloody  usurpation."  Our  fishermen  are 
badgered  in  Canadian  \vaters,  while  the  peacefid  retaliatorv 
powers  confined  by  law  to  the  President  are  unused.  So  gan- 
eial  has  been  the  condemnation  of  our  diplomatic  dealings 
\\  ith  Mexico,  that  our  distinguished  Secretary  of  State  is  said 
to  believe  that  the  whole  countr\-  has  entered  into  a  conspiracv 
against  him,  while  the  jockey  club  in  Mexico  has  debaucheil 
his  special  envoy.  The  dying  appeal  of  Mr.  Tilden  was  not 
enough  to  arouse  the  patriotism  of  a  Democratic  majority  in 
the  House  to  make  an  appropriation  for  our  coast  defenses. 
The  modest  bill  for  new  war  ships  —  carrying  $6,500,000  — 
was,  by  decree  of  the  Democratic  steering  committee,  reduced 
to  $3,500,000,  under  a  threat  that  it  should  not  otherwise  have 
consideration.  Wounded  and  deserving  soldiers  have  been 
expelled  from  public  offices  upon  a  secret  charge,  and  their 
appeals  to  know  the  character  of  the  charges  have  been  treated 
by  an  arrogant  head  of  department  with  contemptuous 
silence." 


L< 


PART  II. 


LEVI   PARSONS   MORTON. 


Part  Second. 


LIFE  OF  LEVI  PARSONS  MORTON 


Chapter  I. 


ANCESTRY. 

A  PASSENGER  ON  THE  SHIP  ANN A  SETTLER  IN  MIDDLEBORO',  MAS- 
SACHUSETTS—  LATER  GENERATIONS A  BIRTH  IN  MAINE  RE- 
MOVAL     TO      VERMONT  SCHOOL      AT      MIDDLEBURY,      VERMONT 

STUDIES  FOR  THE  MINISTRY REMOVAL  TO  SHOREHAM  —  ANOTHER 

FAMILY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS REMOVAL  TO  ADDISON  COUNTY,  VER- 
MONT —  THE  FIRST  AMERICAN  MISSIONARY  TO  THE  HOLY  LAND  — 
MARRIAGE THE    FOURTH    CHILD HIS    NAME. 

In  1623  the  good  ship  Afiu  cast  anchor  just  off  the  Massa- 
chusetts shore  Among  her  passengers  was  a  young  man  of 
sterling  piety,  who  sought  the  freedom  to  be  found  in  the  New 
World,  and  whose  name  was  George  Morton.  This  man  set- 
tled at  Plymouth. 

But  his  son,.  John  Morton,  liecame  one  of  the  famous 
"twenty-six  men  "  who  bought  the  lands  at  Nemasket,  and 
settled  the  town  of  Middleboro'.  He  was  the  first  deputy  to 
the  General  Court  of  Plymouth,  in  1670,  and  was  chosen  again 
in  1672. 
16 


242  THE  LIFE  OF 

According  to  accounts  which  seem  accurate,'  the  house  he 
built  before  King  Philip's  War  was  saved  from  the  conflagra- 
tion, when  the  town  was  burned  during  tliat  war,  on  account 
of  friendly  acts  done  to  the  Indians,  and  remained  standing 
until  but  a  few  years  ago.  According  to  other  accounts,  that 
first  house  was  burned  in  the  war,  and  another  was  built  imme- 
diately afterwards,   which  was  not  destroyed  until  about  1870. 

This  man's  son,  the  second  Jolm  Morton,  bought  extensive 
tracts  of  land,  and  enlarged  the  house  which  became  famous 
as  the  "  old  Morton  House." 

A  Mrs.  Morton  was  living  in  the  house  al)out  1750.  She 
was  a  member  of  the  First  Congregational  Church,  of  Middle- 
boro',  and  distinguished  for  her  piety  and  social  influence. 
vShe  was  a  woman  of  great  hospitality.  Her  home  was  the 
home  of  the  clergj'men  who  visited  the  church.  On  one  occa- 
sion, when  a  couple  of  ministers  called  near  the  diimcr-hour, 
she  placed  before  them  what  she  had,  remarking  that  she  had 
not  time  to  prepare  more.  "  But,  gentlemen,"  said  she,  "  if 
you  are  good  Christians  you  will  be  thankful  for  this;  if  vou 
are  not,  it  is  too  good  for  you." 

vSo  the  ^lortons  and  their  descendants  lived  for  generations, 
—  one  of  the  noble,  patriot  families  of  the  Commonwealth  on 
whose  shores  "  American  liberty  raised  her  first  voice." 

Two  characteristics  marked  the  people  of  Massachusetts, 
Itoth  in  the  earlier  and  later  days  :  an  intense  piety  and  an  in- 
tense patriotism.  It  has  been  said  that  they  abused  the  former 
by  linking  it  with  the  spirit  of  persecution.  However  that 
may  be,  the  spirit  of  libertv  was  not  wanting  in  anv  part  of 
their  natures,  even  in  their  religion.      They  only  asked  that  the 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  243 

society  which  they  liad  established  enjoy  its  liberty  without 
molestation  by  doctrines  from  other  societies.  The  shores  of 
the  New  World  were  long,  and  the  fields  were  wide,  and  they 
had  no  objection  to  the  presence  of  others  near  them,  Init  in 
separate  communities  ;  they  would  even  unite  with  others  in 
the  common  defense  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  This  sort 
of  persecution — which  rose  in  self-defense,  in  the  belief  that 
doctrines  were  essential,  and  that  foreign  teachings  would 
demoralize  and  ruin  them  and  their  children  — was  far  difier- 
ent  from  that  which  had  been  carried  on  against  them  in  En- 
gland, to  compel  them  to  conform  to  other  teaching. 

This  peculiarity  was  manifested  in  civil,  as  well  as  in  relig- 
ious afiairs.  The  Puritans  were  aggressive  in  matters  of  hu- 
man liberty  ;  but  not  in  matters  of  doctrine  or  philosophy,  civil, 
social,  or  religious.  In  those  things  they  merely  desired  lib- 
erty. English  persecution,  on  the  other  hand,  has  always  been 
the  manifestation  of  the  assumption  of  authority  of  class  over 
the  conscience  and  liberty  of  class.  Daniel  Webster,  in  later 
years,  taught,  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
according  to  the  assumption  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  that  men  are  already  free  and  equal,  and  that  govern- 
ment should  be  for  the  defense  of  this  liberty,  not  to  compel 
men  to  conform  to  anything  civil  or  otherwise.  And  it  may 
be  noted,  in  the  history  of  the  Federalist,  National  Republican, 
Whig,  and  Republican  parties,  that  their  greatest  rally ings  of 
their  forces,  and  their  greatest  uprisings,  have  been  when  the 
principles  of  liberty  were  in  danger,  and  not  when  they 
sought  to  enforce  conformity  of  any  sort.  The  latter  char- 
acteristic belongs  strictly  and  solely  to  the  Democratic  party, 


244  THE  LIFE  OF 

and  its  greatest  illustration  is  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 
Every  Whig  sought  conciliation  until  1S54,  and  many  of  them 
until  Sumter  was  fired  on.  Then,  the  danger  arising,  they 
arose  in  defense  of  liberty. 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  the  people,  among  whom  George 
Morton  and  his  descendants  have  not  been  insignificant. 

One  of  the  later  Mortons  moved  to  Maine,  and  there  a  son, 
Daniel  O.  Morton,  was  born  to  him.  He  removed,  while  this 
son  was  young,  to  Middlebury,  Vermont,  and  there  he  brought 
him  up  strictly,  and  in  the  later  Puritan  faith.  He  gave  him  a 
good  education,  sending  him  until  he  graduated,  to  Middle- 
bury  College. 

Daniel  O.  Morton  thus  became  a  strong,  self-reliant,  sturdy 
man,  ready  for  any  kind  of  life  that  Providence  seemed  to  poirit 
out  to  him.  Pie  became  a  Congregational  minister.  When 
he  had  graduated,  and  was  ready  to  enter  on  the  life  of  a  min- 
ister, he  settled  in  Shoreham,  Vermont,  in  1S1.J,  and  there  he 
remained  as  pastor  for  many  years.  He  afterwards  became 
pastor  of  the  church  at  SiDringfield,  Vermont,  and  afterwards 
at  Winchendon,  Massachusetts.  He  became  a  powerfid 
preacher,  but  noted  more  for  his  earnest,  indefatigable  pastoral 
work,  and  faithful  and  learned  teachings,  than  for  great  elo- 
(|ucnce.  He  seems  to  have  gone  quietly  along,  content  to  teach 
the  lunnble  in  his  parish,  and  utterly  without  that  restless  am- 
l)iti()n  that  often  characterizes  those  in  iniblic  life,  to  acquire 
more  notoriety.  There  is  extant  a  pamphlet  written  by  him, 
in  which  is  described  the  great  revival  at  Springfield  about 
the  year    183S,  andfit    is,  perhaps,  his    only  published   work. 

There  was   another    Massachusetts    familv — that    of    Rev. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  245 

Justyn  Parsons.  He  moved  from  Western  Massachusetts  and 
settled  in  Addison  County,  Vermont,  not  far  from  Middle- 
bury.  He  had  a  son  named  Levi,  who  also  became  a  minister 
—  educated,  and  a  man  of  talent  and  culture  and  piety.  Levi 
Parsons  was  associated  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fisk,  and  the  two 
were  the  first  American  missionaries  to  the  Holy  Land.  Mr. 
Parsons  died  in  1824,  and  was  buried  in  Alexandria,  Egypt. 

A  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Justyn  Parsons,  sister  to  Levi,  as 
pious  and  accomplished  as  her  brother,  was  a  light  and  comfort 
to  the  household  when  they  moved  to  Vermont.  But  she  there 
met  the  young  student,  Daniel  O.  Morton  ;  they  became  en- 
gaged, and  about  the  time  he  was  to  enter  on  his  duties  in 
Shoreham,  they  were  married.  The  young  minister  took  his 
bride  to  the  rough  and  small  village,  and  together  they  began 
the  task  of  making  out  of   it  a  typical  New   England  village. 

The  New  England  villages  have  a  characteristic  quietness 
and  steadiness  and  culture,  due,  more  than  to  anything  else,  to 
the  long  pastorates  of  faithful  ministers.  A  young  man  en- 
tered upon  his  pastorate  when  the  village  was  young  ;  he  won 
the  confidence  of  the  quiet  people  ;  the  young  at  last  all  came 
more  or  less  under  his  influence  ;  he  officiated  at  all  weddings, 
and  all  funerals  ;  he  patronized  the  public  school  ;  he  encour- 
aged every  kind  of  knowledge  ;  he  set  the  example  of  beautify- 
ing his  home  by  adornments  of  quiet  art ;  and  so  ten,  twenty, 
thirty,  forty,  and  fifty  years  passed,  and  there  was  a  quiet  vil- 
lage nestled  among  the  shade-trees,  having  a  cleanly  appear- 
ance, and  somehow  an  air  of  culture  ;  and  the  minister  himself 
could  scarcely  tell  how  the  touches  of  modern  art  and  taste 
became  mingled  with    the    earlier  adornments  until    he  could 


246  THE  LIFE  OF 

not  perceive  where  one  ended  and  the  other  began,  so  imper- 
ceptibly and  gradually  had  the  changes  come  by  the  influence 
of  the  spirit  he  had  given  them  years  before.  This  is  the  typical 
New  England  \illage,  with  its  cottages,  and  even  with  its  mills. 

.Such,  with  the  diflbrences  required  by  local  circumstances, 
was  Shoreham.  The  village  was  not  in  the  centre  of  the  stern 
Puritan  society,  but,  with  a  few  others  in  that  region  which 
were  established  by  such  influences,  was  isolated  from  it  by  the 
Green  Mountains.  It  was  situated  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Champlain,  midway  north  and  south  between  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point,  which  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 
Here  it  was  more  accessible  to  the  influences  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Hudson,  than  to  those  from  Massachusetts  Bay.  Never- 
theless, the  little  village  quietly  grew  under  the  care  and  vigil- 
ance of  the  village  pastor  and  his  faithful  associates,  and  their 
influence  was  greater  tlian  any  from  oilier  sources. 

To  the  young  couple  were  born,  as  man\-  cjuiet  vears  went 
by,  six  cliildren  —  four  daughters  and  two  sons.  Four  of 
these  are  living  to-day,  and  a  daughter  and  a  son  are  dead. 
This  son,  Daniel  ().  Alorton,  died  at  his  home  in  Toledo, 
Ohio,  December  51)1,  1S59,  at  the  age  of  fortv-four.  He  was 
a  graduate  of  Aliddleburv  College,  anil  had  achieved  consider- 
able fame  in  Ohio  as  an  able  law  \er.  He  was  appointed  b\- 
Picsi(knt  Pierce  I'nited  States  Distiict  Attornev  for  ()liio. 
Some  )eai"s  before  his  death,  he  manitested  that  independence 
and  patriotism  that  belonged  to  the  people  from  whom  he 
descended  in  a  characteristic  manner.  lie  had  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  I  )em<)Ciatic  parts,  and  one  of  its  conscientious  sup- 
porters.     At  tlu'  mutteriugs  of  icbellion  aiul  arrogance  on  the 


LEVI  P.  MORTON. 


247 


part  of  the  South,  and  the  disloyal  apologies  for  it  on  the  part 
of  Democrats  of  the  North,  he  deliberately  separated  himself 
from  the  party,  and  announced  his  purpose  to  stand  by  the 
government  and  the  Union,  at  a  time  when  the  act  involved  the 
bitterest  persecution  from  old  friends. 

Levi  Parsons  Morton,  the  fourtli  child,  was  born  at 
Shoreham,  May  16,  1824.  Th's,  it  will  be  seen,  was  in  the 
same  year  in  which  the  missionary  died  at  his  lonely  post  and 
was  buried  in  Alexandria,  and  it  may  be  that  that  fact  had 
something  to  do  with  naming  the  boy. 


Chapter  II, 


THP:    liOYHOOD    OF    MORTON. 

THE  preacher's  SALARY  —  A  FAMILY  OF  EIGHT  —  HOW  TO  EDUCATE 
THE  CHILDREN  THE  COMMON  SCHOOL  AT  SHOREHAM  THE  IN- 
FLUENCE OF  HOME  —  COUNTRY  STORE  IN    ENFIELD  A   TWO  YEARS' 

PRACTICAL  SCHOOLING  —  APTITUDE  FOR  BUSINESS  —  HABITS  — 
MIND  —  ANOTHER  COUNTRY  STORE  —  A  MARK  OF  EMPLOYER'S  CON- 
FIDENCE—  BRANCH  STORE  IN  HANOVER — DARTMOUTH  COLLEGE 
—  FOUNDATION  FOR  FUTURE  SUCCESS — FIRST  VOTE  AND  POLITICAL 
VIEWS  —  ANOTHER     ADVANCE   IN    1849. 

Levi's  father  was  poor  ;  and  he  modestly  chose  a  humble 
station,  even  for  a  minister.  His  salary  was  but  six  hundred 
dollars  a  year;  a  small  amount,  indeed,  for  the  li\ino-  of  a  fam- 
ily of  eight,  and  the  education  of  six  children. 

Levi  was  born  at  a  time  when  his  father's  cares  and  expenses 
had  increased,  and  were  still  increasing,  by  reason,  not  only 
of  the  added  number  to  llic  household,  but  of  the  accumulat- 
ing demands  of  living,  benevolence,  and  enterprise  as  the  vil- 
lage grew  older.  He  was  scarcely  able  to  attend  the  country 
school  when  the  sixth  child  was  born  ;  and  the  expenses  of  the 
education  of  his  cider  l)r()tiier  at  Middlebury  began  to  drain 
liis  tatlici's  purse.  He  was  just  nine  \ears  old  when  his 
brother  graduated  at  the  age  of  eighteen  ;  but  his  father  was 
not  able  to  let  Daniel's  mantle  of  fortune  fall  upon  Levi's 
slioulders,  for  he  must  not  only  pay  the  graduate's  expenses  in 
the  otHce  of    Pavue  cSl    Wilson,    Cleveland,    Ohio,    v\  here    he 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  249 

pursued  legal  studies,  until  after  his  removal  to  Toledo,  and 
the  beginning  of  his  practice  in  1837,  but  must  bear  the 
increased  burdens  of  a* family  of  growing  children,  and  of  a 
larger  parish. 

With  his  small  income,  it  was  impossible  for  Mr.  Morton  to 
give  his  other  children  the  advantages  he  had  given  the  first. 
It  became,  indeed,  a  serious  problem  how  to  provide  for  them 
and  educate  them  at  all.  True,  he  and  his  wife  were  edu- 
cated and  could  teach  ;  and  in  this  home-school  the  children 
would  always  be  under  the  best  of  influences.  But  the  poor 
have  little  time  or  opportunity  for  giving  their  children  direct 
courses  of  instruction  ;  and  the  poor  minister  and  his  wite 
especially,  are  not  spared  such  time  and  opportunity  from  the 
varied  home  and  parish  duties.  Yet  what  training  could  be 
given  in  that  way,  was  given,  and  at  least  the  moral  and  relig- 
ious influences  should  not  be  lacking. 

It  thus  came  about  that  the  boy,  Levi,  did  not  receive  a  col- 
lege education,  and  that  he  did  receive  good  home-training 
instead.  But  he  was  also  enabled  to  attend  the  common 
school  in  Shoreham,  and  this  was  all  the  school-training  he 
ever  received.  That  he  made  use  of  his  talents,  was  a  faith- 
ful pupil,  and  applied  himself  well,  can  easily  be  believed 
from  his  subsequent  career.  His  teachers  had  no  more 
promising  pupil,  and  he  justified  their  expectations. 

Levi  Morton  furnishes  in  his  life  an  illustration  of  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  American  home  —  the  homes  built  by  those  ruled 
by  conscience  alone,  and  having  broad,  independent  ideas  and 
spirit  to  impart  to  their  children. 

Meanwhile,  as  the  boy  grew  up,  he  had  to  assist  in  bearing 


250  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  common  burdens.  He  could  not  attend  school  at  Sprnig- 
field,  nor  at  Winchendon,  for  this  reason.  Soon  after  arriving 
at  the  latter  village,  it  became  necessary  that  he  should  earn 
wages  ;  and  to  this  end,  he  resolved  to  pursue  a  course  that 
would  lead  iiim,  by  way  of  study,  discipline,  and  experience, 
to  those  heights  of  culture  that  had  been  denied  him  through 
the  schools.  He  was  not  of  that  cool  and  calculating  business 
temper  that  has  no  ends  in  view  but  wealth,  at  any  cost.  His 
}()uthful  eye  looked  longingly  upon  that  culture,  and  no  doubt 
on  that  fame,  from  which  he  had  been  debarred  by  lack  of 
wealth,  and  wealth  he  determined  to  have  as  a  means  to  the 
coveted  end  ;  and  judging  from  his  subsequent  career,  he 
determined,  also,  that  when  he  should  become  rich,  he  would 
not  deny  to  others  what  the  rich  had  practically  denied  to  him. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen,  he  went  to  Enfield,  Massachusetts,  on 
the  Swift  River,  and  entered  as  a  clerk,  a  countr\  variet\' 
store,  kept  by  Mr.  Ezra  Cary.  Here  were  sold  dry-goods, 
groceries,  crockery  ware,  tin  ware,  and  everything  that  people 
might  want,  for  the  village  was  not  large  enough  for  stores 
doing  special  kinds  of  trade. 

Here  he  remained  two  years.  He  had  a  natural  aptitude 
for  the  business,  and  he  was  faithful  and  trusty.  His  em- 
|iloyer  could  leave  him  in  charge  for  days,  when  he  wished, 
and  matters  would  go  on  and  prosper.  Young  Morton  found 
the  two  years  were  to  him  the  same  as  two  years  of  schooling. 
He  brought  not  only  what  he  had  learned  at  home  and  in  tlie 
country  school  into  practical  use,  but  he  gained  both  training  and 
knowletlge.  He  became  a  ready  calculator,  and  began  also  to 
learn  the  larger  principles  of  trade,  looking  out   for   the   inter- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  251 

ests  of  his  employer  in  many  ways.  With  Levi  Morton  the 
proprietor's  business  was  as  his  own.  He  had  come  there  to 
help,  to  clerk,  to  take  oversight  frequently,  and  he  conscien- 
tiously strove  to  do  his  work  well. 

Besides  this  consideration,  he  had  business  habits  that  served 
him  here  in  good  need.  True,  no  good  habit  can  be  so  well 
formed  but  that  it  be  improved.  He  might  have  learned 
merely  to  follow  his  business  t;istes  by  hal)it,  but  then  he  would 
have  become  a  mere  machine,  and  his  tastes  but  part  of  the 
machine.  The  habit  of  always  bringing  original  inventive 
business  faculties  to  bear  on  one's  business  life  makes  the 
mechanical  in  one's  life  impossible;  and,  in  his  line,  Levi 
Morton  had  inventive  faculties.  He  had  a  fertility  of  resource 
that  gave  promise  of  his  future  success.  He  carried  his  home 
principles  into  everything  he  did  ;  a  stern  integrity,  a  consci- 
entiousness, a  tirm  confidence  in  the  machinery  that  produces 
results. when  set  in  motion  by  wisdom  and  prudence.  This 
was  his  apparent  coolness  ;  but  it  was  rather,  in  fact,  the  steady 
control  of  giant  forces. 

At  the  end  of  two  years,  he  closed  his  work  with  Mr.  Gary, 
and  went  into  a  store  at  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  owned  by 
Mr.  W.  W.  Esterbrook.  Here  was  a  largerstore,  a  largertrade, 
and  here  he  received  larger  wages.  The  same  fidelity  that 
marked  his  course  in  Enfield,  he  manifested  in  Concord,  and 
he  also  proved  himself  fully  equal  to  his  additional  tasks. 

The  confidence  his  new  employer  had  in  him  was  soon  to 
be  shown  in  a  marked  manner.  They  had  not  been  together 
many  months,  before  Mr.  Esterbrook  sent  him  to  establish  a 
branch  store  in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and  conduct  it  him- 


252  THE  LIFE  OF 

self.  It  was  no  ordinary  good  fortune,  and  no  ordinary  show 
of  appreciation  for  a  young  man. 

Hanover  was  on  the  Connecticut  River,  and  was  the  seat  of 
Dartmouth  College.  Its  glory  over  ordinary  villages,  there- 
fore, was  no  assumption  ;  while  its  society,  if  not  fiistidious, 
was  yet  not  satisfied  with  lack  of  culture  and  intelligence 
among  those  with  whom  it  dealt,  or  whom  it  admitted  to  its 
circles.  It  is  no  small  thing,  therefore,  to  say  that  it  opened 
its  heart  to  the  young  merchant.  Professors  and  students  be- 
came his  friends,  and  they,  and  the  rest  of  the  elite  of  Han- 
over, were  glad  to  have  his  presence  on  occasions  of 
intellectual  or  social  assembling ;  for  he  had  a  natural  grace 
and  refinement  that  made  him  welcome  in  the  homes  of  the 
rich,  and  made  the  poor  his  friends. 

Thus  young  Morton  foimd  himself  under  the  best  influences 
that  Dartmouth  and  Hanover  could  aflord  ;  for  his  associations 
were  not  of  that  class  that  detract  from  steadiness  of  life.  He 
attended  strictly  to  his  business  ;  he  never  lost  sight  of  the  fact 
that  others'  interests  were  bound  up  in  his  own  :  and,  besides, 
he  had  no  tastes  for  that  companionship  which  did  not  in  spirit 
harmonize  with  the  seriousness  of  his  aims  in  life.  He  sought 
rather  the  society  of  the  cultivated,  the  thoughtful,  and  the  con- 
scientious. It  can  also  be  understood,  from  his  birth  and 
bringing-up,  that  he  had  a  natural  taste  for  that  stern  devotion 
that  marked  the  lives  of  cultivated  church-people  in  that  day. 
\'et,  withal,  he  was  genial,  companionable,  and  broad  of  mind 
and  heart.      He  was  not  narrow  nor  bigoted  in  any  sense. 

In  Hano\er,  Mr.  Morton  gained  his  first  practical  insight 
into  the  details  of  the  connnission  business  ;  and    here   he   no 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  253 

doubt  laid  the  foundations  of  his  broad  plans  of  life  that  brought 
him  great  returns  of  wealth.  He  dealt  fairly  and  honestly. 
He  managed  the  business  with  skill  and  enterprise.  He 
attracted,  by  his  gentlemanly  manners  and  enterprising  meth- 
ods of  conducting  his  store,  the  trade  of  professors,  students, 
and  all  other  classes.  His  goods  were  of  the  best  quality.  He 
also  thoroughly  satisfied  those  whose  goods  he  was  handling  ; 
and  he  won  for  himself  a  reputation  for  business  integrity  and 
capability  that  was  to  be  of  no  little  service  to  him  in  time  to 
come.  So  he  remained  in  Hanover,  giving  entire  satisfaction 
to  all  with  whom  he  dealt,  until  he  was  twenty-five. 

Before  this  time,  Mr.  Morton  had  cast  his  first  vote,  in  1848. 
He  had  always  had  his  convictions  on  the  public  questions  of 
the  day  ;  and  though  he  was  so  far  removed  from  the  great 
centres  of  conflict,  yet  he  lived  right  in  the  midst  of  the  peo- 
ple who  had  descended  from  those  who  had  taken,  at  first, 
the  deepest  interest  in  American  principles,  and  where  that 
interest  had  never  waned.  He  had  always  been  a  Whig, 
and  his  first  vote  was  cast  for  Zachary  Taylor. 

He  was  among  those  that  w^ere  always  serious  in  political 
matters  ;  and  he  never  could  understand  how  men,  claiming  to 
have  the  interest  of  the  country  at  heart,  could  toy  recklessly 
with  the  rights  of  the  people.  Hence  he  deplored  the  clinging 
to  the  Whig  cause  of  politicians  for  personal  or  local  interests, 
as  had  been  the  case  since  the  days  of  Jackson.  He  believed 
the  Whig  cause  would  prosper  better  without  them,  in  work 
and  in  numbers.  There  were  many  honest  and  true  patriots 
in  the  United  States  wdiose  minds  were  confused  by  these 
parasites.     They  knew  the  professions  of  the  Whig  party  ;  but 


254  LEVI  P.  MORTON. 

when  these  so-called  friends  manifested  more  trickery  than 
principle,  some  of  them  having  made  speeches  in  behalf 
of  better  principles  than  they  afterwards  regarded  while  in 
office,  these  genuine  patriots  revolted  from  the  idea  of  Whio- 
purity.  When  there  was  evident  conniving  at  corruption 
for  the  sake  of  gaining  \otcs,  these  men  could  not  believe 
in  Whig  sincerity.  These  things  in  that  day,  as  in  this,  were 
called  "  politics,"  and  condoned  because  they  were  ''  politics," 
and  "■  politics  "  was  right.  But  Mr.  Morton  did  not  believe 
in  that  kind  of  politics.  He  believed  that  manipulations  might 
always  be  made  on  honest  basis;  and  that  a  party  with  such 
principles  as  the  Whig  party  professed,  need  not  be  ashamed 
of  them  anywhere,  and  that  honest  and  open  avowal  of  them, 
and  open  work  for  their  success,  would  at  last  call  the  better 
elements  of  the  government  to  rally  around  the  Whig  standard. 
He  believed  that  people  with  American  principles  predomin- 
ated in  America.  Believing  as  he  did,  he  was  of  just  the 
right  material  to  put  into  the  foundation  of  the  new  partv  that 
should  afterwards  rise,  composed  largely,  perhaps  almost  alto- 
gether at  first,  of  the  very  best  of  American  patriots. 

In  1S49,  there  was  another  change  in  his  personal  affairs. 
'He  gave  up  the  store  at  Hanover,  and  went  to  Boston  to  enter 
the  large  business  house  of  Messrs.  Beebe  &  Company,  as  clerk. 
So  far,  his  march  from  boyhood  was  attended  with  success. 
Nor  was  his  star  destined  to  srrow  dim. 


Chapter  III. 


BUSINESS  AND  FINANCIAL  RECORD. 

'BEEBE     &     company" JOINED     BY      MR.      MORGAN MR.      MORTON    A 

RESIDENT      PARTNER      IN     NEW      YORK DEATH      OF      HIS      FATHER 

—  "MORTON     &     GRINNELL"  —  FIRST      MARRIAGE  —  A     FINANCIAL 

FAILURE A      NEW      FIRM AN      HONORABLE       DEED  —  MR.       BLISS 

ENTERS     THE     FIRM "MORTON,    ROSE    A     COMPANY,"      LONDON  — 

DEATH    OF    HIS     WIFE  —  YEARS     OF     BRAVERY     UNDER     AFFLICTION 

— ^  ANOTHER       HAPPY       MARRIAGE "HALIFAX       AWARD" STORY 

OF     THE     RESUMPTION     OF     SPECIE     PAYMENT. 

The  real  business  life  of  Levi  P.  Morton  began  in  1849, 
when  he  received  an  invitation  to  become  clerk  in  the  large 
dry-goods  commission  house  of  James  M.  Beebe  &  Company, 
Boston,  \\hich  was,  at  that  time,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
reliable  firms  in  New  England. 

He  continued  as  clerk  for  the  firm  two  years  ;  and  that  he 
gave  perfect  satisfaction  is  witnessed  by  the  confidence  mani- 
fested in  him  in  various  ways,  on  the  part  of  his  employers, 
and  especially  by  a  promotion  that  came  to  him  at  the  end  of 
the  two  years. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1S51,  Mr.  Junius  S.  Morgan,  who 
had  been  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Howe,  Mather  &  Company, 
of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  entered  the  firm  of  Beebe  &  Com- 
pany, which  then  became  Beebe,  Morgan  &  Company. 

About  the  same  time,  young  Morton's  first  two  years  with 
the  house  ended,  and  he  was  now  made  a  member  of  the  firm. 


256  THE  LIFE  OF 

One  year  after,  in  January,  1852,  the  firm  opened  a  branch 
package  house  in  New  York  City,  and  Mr.  Morton  was 
tletailed  as  resident  partner  and  manager. 

It  was  in  that  year  tliat  his  father,  Daniel  O.  Morton,  died 
in  Bristol,  New  Hampshire,  whither  he  had  removed  from 
Winchendon  in  1S42,  and  where  he  had  done  eBective  work 
as  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church.  Thus  passed  away 
one  of  the  strong  pillars  of  the  later  Puritan  faith  ;  a  defender 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty  in  its  broadest,  truest  sense,  and  a 
conservator,  in  his  life  and  teaching,  of  much  that  was  good  in 
past  systems  of  social  and  religious  doctrine. 

Subsequently  a  memorial  tablet  was  erected  in  the  church 
at  Bristol.  It  was  of  the  finest,  and  most  highly  polished 
Italian  marble.  It  was  three  feet  four  inches  wide,  by  six 
feet  high.  On  the  top  were  molded  scroll  cornices  and  a 
(jothic  cross.  The  whole  was  upheld  by  sculptured  l)rackets. 
The  following  was  the  inscription  :  "  In  memory  of  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Oliver  Morton,  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Churches 
in  .Shoreham  and  Springfield,  N^ermont,  and  Winchendon, 
Massachusetts,  from  1S12  to  1S41,  and  of  this  church  from 
June  S,  1842,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  March  22,  1S52.  '  They 
that  turn  many  to  righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever 
and  ever.'  Erected  by  his  son,  Levi  Parsons  Morton."  The 
tablet  stands  to-day,  one  of  the  monuments  to  tlie  devotion  of 
the  son  to  the  memory  of  his  father  and  his  principles. 

Mr.  Morton  served  as  New  York  partner  of  the  Boston 
house  until  January  i,  1854.  On  that  date  both  he  and  Mr. 
Morgan  withdrew  from  the  firm.  Mr.  Morgan  became  a  part- 
ner in  the  American  banking  iiouse  of  George  Peabody  &  Com- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  257 

pany,  London.  When,  in  1866,  Mr.  Peabody  retired,  the 
firm  became  J.  S.  Morgan  &  Company,  and  remains  under  that 
name.  Mr.  Morton,  on  the  day  of  his  withdrawing  from  the 
firm  of  Beebe,  Morgan  &  Company,  estabHshed  the  dry-goods 
commission  house  of  Morton  &  Grinnell,  on  lower  Broadway^ 
New  York,  succeeding  to  the  business  of  J.  C.  Bird  &  Com- 
pany. 

Here,  as  senior  partner,  Mr.  Morton  widened  his  sphere  of 
business  experience,  and  of  knowledge  of  finance  and  men. 
He  manifested  the  same  tact  and  shrewdness  that  had  hitherto 
characterized  him  ;  and  the  habits  of  faithfulness  and  watchful- 
ness, acquired  in  caring  for  others'  interests,  now  came  to  him 
as  a  reward  in  caring  for  his  own. 

Two  years  after  entering  into  partnership  with  Mr.  Grin- 
nell, Mr.  Morton  was  married.  He  was  just  thirty-two  years 
old  ;  but  he  had  not  before  considered  himself  ready  for  the 
sacred  alliance.  He  had  now  been  but  two  years  really  inde- 
pendent in  business.  His  mind  had  not,  indeed,  been  so 
entirely  engrossed  with  business  that  he  was  not  before  sus- 
ceptible to  the  influences  of  love  ;  but  his  thoughts  had  evi- 
dently formed  an  ideal  home  and  companionship  incompatible 
with  his  circumstances,  while  he  felt  liimself  in  any  wise 
dependent  upon  others  in  his  business  affairs.  He  now  felt 
that  the  time  of  realization  of  a  well-appointed  home  had 
come. 

The  young  lady  was  Miss  Lucy  Kimball,  daughter  of  Elijah 
H.  Kimball,  of  Flatlands,  Long  Island.  She  belonged  to  one 
of  the  best  families  of  Kings  County.      She  was  very  beautiful, 

17 


258  THE  LIFE  OF 

gifted,  and  accomplishetl.  She  was  a  leader  in  society. 
Withal,  she  was  noble-minded,  tender-hearted,  and  benevo- 
lent. Wherever  there  was  suH'ering  to  be  relieved,  Lucy  Kim- 
ball was  found,  if  it  was  pcjssible  for  her  to  be  there.  So  true 
a  woman  was  well  fitted  for  the  companionship  of  T^e\i  P. 
Morton,  who  had  set  his  heart  on  finding  a  wife  for  liis  ideal 
home  and  the  sharing  of  his  life.  She  became  a  faithful  wite, 
and  greatly  assisted  in  making  his  life  a  still  greater  success. 

Morton  &  Grinnell  did  a  good  business  until  1S61.  In  that 
trying  year,  with  many  other  houses,  they  failed.  Mr.  Morton 
desired  to  pay  every  cent,  but  it  was  simply  impossible,  and  a 
settlement  had  to  he  efiected  at  fifty  cents  on  the  dollar.  The 
settlement  was  open,  and  all  that  could  be  asked  at  that  time. 

Meanwhile,  in  1S59,  his  mother  had  died.  The  famih  liad 
been  broken  up  on  the  death  of  his  father  in  1852,  and  his 
mother  had  l)een  dependent  upon  her  children.  She  had 
received  no  little  support  from  her  honored  and  successful  son, 
whose  love  for  his  parents,  and  whose  liberality  had  been  man- 
ifested in  many  ways.  She  had  now  been  living  in  Philadel- 
phia for  sometime,  and  was  there  at  the  time  of  her  death. 

In  this  same  year,  also,  his  brother,  Daniel  O.  Morton,  of 
\\  bom  mention  has  been  made,  died  in  Toledo.  lie  left  a  son 
and  a  daughter,  now  in  some  measure  dependent  upon  their 
uncle,  into  whose  family  they  were  adopted.  Mr.  Morton 
provided  for  them  as  if  they  w^ere  his  (nvn  children,  secur- 
ing for  the  daughter  the  best  instruction,  and  placing  the  son 
in  business  as  soon  as  it  was  possible  for  him  to  do  su.  He 
made  him  cleik  in  tlie  firm  of  Morton  &  (jrinnell  until  the 
failure.     The  daughter  grew  up  one  of  the  brightest  ornaments 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  359 

of  the  social  circles  in  which  she  moved,  and  one  of  the  com- 
forts of  her  uncle's  home.  She  was  subsequently  married,  at 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  to  Ernest  Chaplin,  of  England,  whose 
brother  was  a  member  of  Parliament. 

After  the  failure,  Mr.  Morton,  though  not  discouraged,  was 
nominally  out  of  business  until  1S63.  In  that  year  he  estab- 
lished a  banking-house  in  New  York  City,  which  was  known 
as  that  of  L.  P.  Morton  &  Company  As  was  to  be  expected, 
in  view  of  his  experience  and  financial  ability,  he  made  money 
rapidly,  and  it  was  not  long  until  he  had  retrieved  all  he  had 
lost.  He  became  prominent  in  the  financial  circles  of  New 
York  City  and  the  whole  country.  Large  transactions,  that 
foreshadowed  those  of  greater  fame  and  national  good  that 
came  afterwards,  brought  him  into  notice  as  a  financier.  It  is 
to  be  said  for  him  that  he  never  engaged  in  any  transactions  of 
a  doubtful  nature,  or  that  l)rought  suspicion  upon  his  house. 
He  was  where  he  had  every  temptation  to  make  himself  rich 
faster  and  by  doubtful  methods ;  but  he  went  straight  on 
through  lawful  channels,  and  kept  his  opportunities  always  in 
view. 

One  day  he  issued  invitations  to  the  creditors  of  the  late 
firm  of  Morton  &  Grinnell,  to  attend  a  banquet  provided  by 
him  for  them.  They  came,  and  when  they  sat  down  to  din- 
ner, each  creditor  found  under  his  plate  a  check  for  his  full 
claim,  with  interest,  signed  by  Mr.  Morton.  It  is  needless  to 
say  that,  while  his  chai'acter  for  strict  honesty  was  well  known 
to  them,  and  while  the  act  was  one  that  might  have  been 
looked  for  from  such  a  man  as  they  knew  him  to  be,  they  were 
greater  friends  to  him  than  ever,  from  that  time. 


26o  THE  LIFE  OF 

He  was  not  Ir^ally  bound  to  pay  tliose  claims.  There  had 
l)ecn  no  calls  upon  him  to  do  so.  Failure  to  pay,  in  such  a 
case,  was  so  common  that  men  had  ceased  to  look  for  it,  and 
society  had  learned  (to  its  own  discredit)  to  still  regard  it  as 
moral,  merely  because  it  was  legal,  and  to  consider  men  who 
refused  to  pay  their  debts  when  they  became  able  to  do  so,  as 
respectable.  But  Mr,  Morton  had  no  mere  legal  definition  of 
morality,  and  would  not  screen  himself  with  one.  lie  had 
been  brought  up  in  a  school  of  integrity,  and  had  not  forgot- 
ten his  early  lessons. 

In  January,  i86y,  Mr,  Morton  was  joined  by  Mr,  George 
Bliss,  anil  tlie  firm  l)ecame  Morton,  Bliss  &  Company.  It 
may  be  remarked  that,  in  this  case,  as  well  as  in  others,  Mr. 
Morton  was  both  shrewd  and  fortunate  in  the  choice  of  a 
l)artner.  Mr.  Bliss  had  been  for  many  years  engaged  in  the 
dry-goods  trade.  He  was  first  in  the  firm  of  Phelps,  Chitten- 
den &  Bliss,  afterwards  in  that  of  Chittenden,  Bliss  &  Com- 
pany, then  Phelps,  Bliss  &  Company,  and  then  George  Bliss 
&  Company.  His  capital  sliare,  when  he  entered  into  part- 
nersliip  w  ith   Mr.  Morton,  is  said   to  have  been  $J,:;oo,ooo. 

The  same  year,  Mr,  Morton  founded  the  banking  house  of 
Morton,  Rose  &  Company,  London,  His  principal  partner 
was  Sir  John  Rose,  who,  at  onetime,  had  been  Finance  Minis- 
ter of  Canada,  The  transactions  of  this  house,  in  connection 
with  the  New  York  house,  were  large  from  the  first,  antl  it 
immediately  won  a  wide  reputation.  I'^rnest  Chaplin  subse- 
quently became  a  member  of  this  firm. 

About  the  year  1S70,  Mr,  Morton  bought  tiie  splentlid  "cot- 
tage" at  Newport,  known  as  "  Fair  Lawn."     It  was  situated 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  261 

upon  Bellevue  Avenue,  wliich,  though  not  so  attractive  then 
vs^ith  costly  villas  as  now,  was  the  most  beautiful  residence 
street  in  that  beautiful  resort.  Here  he  hoped  for  the  better 
health  of  his  wife,  but  was  doomed  to  a  most  sorrowful  disap- 
pointment. 

In  1871,  while  at  Newport,  his  wife  died.  How  deeply  he 
felt  the  loss  of  the  one  dearest  on  earth  to  him,  can  only  be 
understood  liy  rememliering  how  deep  and  strong  ran  the  cm- 
rents  of  his  social  and  domestic  nature,  and  his  sensibilities. 

He  returned  to  New  York,  and  after  a  time,  continued  in 
business  at  the  bank.  It  was  not  necessary  in  order  to  keep 
alive  his  affection,  that  he  should  give  way  to  grief  at  every 
return  of  the  thought  of  the  loved  one  gone.  Lucy  Morton 
had  been  a  faithful  Christian,  full  of  good  works  ;  and  her 
husband  ''sorrowed  not  as  those  who  had  no  hope."  It  was 
but  natural  that  he  sought  society  and  companionship  ;  that 
his  affections  led  him,  whenever  consistent,  into  the  presence 
of  his  friends,  and  that  these  affections  grew  stronger  as 
months  went  on. 

Nor  is  it  any  wonder  that  this  man  of  society  and  sense 
should  have  among  his  friends  noble  representatives  of  the 
fairer  sex,  and  that  his  broad  heart,  never  forgetting,  but 
always  fondly  cherishing,  the  love  of  former  years,  found  yet 
room  for  one  who,  in  many  ways,  reminded  him  of  one 
departed. 

In  Poughkeepsie  lived  the  family  of  William  I.  Street,  one 
of  the  famous  and  most  respected  families  of  the  Hudson 
Valley.  In  that  family  was  a  daughter,  accomplished,  refined, 
versatile,  of  broad  and  noble  thought  and  feeling,  and   full  of 


262  THE  LIFE  OF 

tact  and  grace.  She  was  very  beautiful,  and  a  leader  in  her 
circle.  She  was  a  blonde,  with  fascinating  smile  and  features, 
and  winning  ways.  She  had  gray-blue  eyes,  full  of  thought 
and  of  transfixing,  but  gentle,  qualities.  But,  notwithstand- 
ing all  her  accomplishments,  talents,  and  natural  charms,  she 
was  tempted  into  no  devoteeism  of  fashionable  society, 
wherein  the  mind  was  lost  in  the  study  of  the  art  of  appear- 
ance, or  into  no  girlish  reliance  upon  a  pretty  face  and  pretty 
eyes  and  pretty  ways,  to  give  her  a  "place  in  society."  She 
had  no  spirit  that  fawned  at  the  feet  of  "  society,"  praying  for 
recognition,  nor  did  she  feel  that  her  "recognition"  already 
secured  rested  upon  insecure  favoritism  on  account  of  wealth, 
family  prestige,  or  any  other  mere  circumstance  of  life,  so  that 
she  must  be  always  watchful  of  these  interests  alone,  lest  she 
should  lose  her  position.  Nor  did  her  reputation  for  accom- 
plishments rest  upon  a  diploma.  She  was  not,  in  the  popular 
sense,  a  "sweet-girl  graduate,"  and  had  not  come  with  a 
bound  from  the  boarding-school  hall  into  the  arms  of  society, 
with  an  implied  demand  of  favors.  She  did  not  belong  to 
that  class  of  society  that  honors  for  any  mere  circumstance,  but 
she  belonged  to  that  class  that  delights  in  the  companionship  of 
culture,  because  it  is  cultivated  itself,  and  is  exclusive  only  in  the 
sense  of  recognizing,  through  a  feeling  of  kinship,  those  who  are 
cultured,  without  taking  the  trouble  or  thought  to  exclude  those 
who  are  not,  as  society,  on  the  basis  of  merit  and  no  barriers, 
adjusts  itself.  vShe  could,  therefore,  appreciate  merit  in  the 
lowest,  and  liked  to  have  it  near  her;  but  she  could  appreciate 
those  most,  who  had  most  merit.  If  she  was  invited  by 
devotees  of  fashion  to  a  banquet,  she  went,  if  the   moti\e  for 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  263 

the  invitation  she  did  not  know  to  be  dishonoring  ;  and  what- 
ever was  of  merit  in  that  company  she  thoroughly  enjoyed, 
and  whatever  was  not,  she  revoked  from.  Whatever  refine- 
ment they  had,  she  had,  and  more.  She  loved  society  and  its 
banquets  for  the  sake  of  the  merit  and  kinship  found  in  it,  not 
because  it  was  "  society."  Without  knowing  it,  she  was  equal 
to  every  social  task  or  emergency,  and  she  never  had  a  dream 
of  remaining  "  out  of  society,"  or  ''in  society,"  because  she 
could  not,  or  could,  "  appear  well."  There  was  no  fear  of 
blundering  if  she  went  too  far,  and  so  there  was  no  need  of 
that  newspaper  palliation,  "  she  does  not  go  much  into 
society."  And  thus  she  found  entrance  through  every  door, 
not  because  the  footman  was  convinced  that  she  was  one  of  the 
elite,  but  because  she  could  lay  her  hand  upon  every  latch,  and 
open  and  enter  and  command  glad  welcome.  It  was  genuine 
culture  and  refinement,  downright  ability  and  tact. 

Miss  Street  was  beyond  twenty-five  —  mature  in  native 
powers,  and  in  accomplishments  of  mind  and  heart.  She 
met  Mr.  Morton  at  Poughkeepsie,  and  found  in  his  great  abil- 
ities and  trained  powers  of  mind,  heart,  and  spirit,  a  kinship 
closer  than  she  had  ever  found  before.  In  1S73  they  were 
married.  She  began  to  prove  herself  a  help  in  life  meet  for 
such  a  man.  She  became  the  sunshine  of  his  home,  a  faithful 
wife,  affectionate  and  painstaking  in  ordering  the  home. 

From  that  time  Mr.  Morton's  life  was  even  more  of  a  finan- 
cial success  ;  for  all  the  world  knows  the  power  of  the  social 
circle,  even  in  trade  ;  and  none  appreciates  the  importance  of 
that  element  more  than  his  wnfe  appreciated  it,  as  she  strove  to 
use  every   honest    influence    for  his  success.     Mrs.  Morton   is 


264  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  highest  type  of   what  an  American    lady   and    wife  may 
become. 

In  1S76,  Mr.  Morton  entered  more  actively  into  political  life 
than  he  had  e\er  done  before.  He  had  never,  indeed,  failed 
to  have  a  keen  interest  in  the  affairs  of  his  country,  and  his 
counsel  and  advice  had  been  sought  and  given  in  the  political 
concerns  of  the  Republican  party,  especially  of  New  York. 
The  benefit  of  his  counsel  and  labor  was  very  great.  His 
political  life,  as  begun  in  the  year  mentioned,  will  be  more 
fully  given  hereafter,  but  that  year  he  rendered  some  business 
service  to  the  country  that  deserves  to  be  recorded. 

This  was  in  the  matter  of  the  "  Halifax  Award,"  which 
was  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  against  the  United  States,  and 
its  acceptance  —  under  protest  —  by  our  government,  as  a 
result  of  the  treaty  of  Halifax  on  the  fisheries  question.  The 
demands  of  England  were  not  believed  to  be  just ;  but  to  avoid 
(juarreling,  and  perhaps  something  more  serious,  the  United 
States  decided  to  pay  the  claim,  at  the  same  time  explaining 
through  our  envoy  that  it  was  done  for  peace  and  friendship, 
and  not  in  the  belief  of  its  justice. 

The  following  shows  Mr.  Morton's  part  in  the  transaction. 
It  is  a  copy  of  the  draft,  and  shows  how  large  had  become  his 
business  in  that  year.  Mr.  Morton  hung  the  copy  in  his  pri- 
vate office  at  No.  28  Nassau  vStreet,  New  York,  merely  as  a 
copy  of  a  large  draft. 

Legation  of  U.  S.,  London,"! 
November  2,  187S.      J 
Dollars  5,500,000. 

Pay  to  tiie  order  of  the  most  honorable,  tiie  Marquis  ot"  Salisburv, 
her  Majesty's  principal  Secretary  of  State  Cov  I'oreign  Affairs,  five  mil- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  265 

lions,  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  gold  coin,  and  charge  the  same 

to  State  Department  special  account. 

John*  Welsh, 

Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  for  the  United 
States  to    Great  Britain. 

To  Messrs.  Morton,  Rose  l\:  Co., 

Bankers,  Bartholomew  Lane,  London. 
Endorsed  across  the  face:  £1,12^,847,  4-9,  accepted   payable   at  the 
Bank  of  England,  25  November,  1S78. 

Morton,  Rose  &  Co. 
This  is  the  draft  to  pay  it : 

London,  November  21,  1878. 
Messrs.  Glynn,  Mills,  Cukrie  &  Co.  : 

Pav  to  Halifax  fishery  award  or  bearer,  one  million,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-seven  pounds,  4-9. 

Morton,  Rose  &  Co. 

Endorsed  :  Pay  to  the  Government  &  Co.  of  the  Bank  of  England. 
Salisbury,  for  the  Government  &  Co. 
of  the  Bank  of  England, 

F.  May,  Chief  Cashier. 

When  the  story  of  the  war  and  the  decade  and  a  half  that 
followed  is  correctly  written,  it  will  be  seen  that  there  were 
men  of  great  faith  and  patriotism  who  were  not  upon  the 
bloody  battle-fields.  There  were  those  in  public  life,  and  those 
in  private  life,  who  stood  by  the  soldiers,  and  without  whose 
powerful  aid  the  war  for  the  Union  would  have  been  a  failure. 
Too  much  honor  cannot,  indeed,  be  given  to  the  brave  men 
who  risked  their  lives  facing  the  enemy's  guns.  But  too  much 
honor  cannot  be  bestowed  on  those  who,  standing  at  the  helm, 


266  THE  LIFE  OF 

kept  the  ship  afloat  and  bearing  between  the  breakers  until  the 
storm  was  over  and  the  clear  sea  was  reached  ;  even  though 
they  stood  where  the  w'aves  of  battle  did  not  dash  over  them. 
Had  the  ship  gone  down,  it  would  have  carried  them  with  it 
into  the  gidf  of  ruin  —  of  conscription  and  death.  For  every 
one  knows  that  there  w^as  no  indication,  in  treatment  of  pris- 
oners or  in  any  other  manner,  that  our  enemies  would  have 
been  so  lenient  with  us,  had  they  been  the  victors,  as  we  have 
been  with  them.  And  had  these  men  at  the  helm  left  their 
posts,  as  some  did,  they  would  have  saved  themselves  from 
every  danger.  But  Chase  and  Sherman,  and  such  men  as  Mr. 
Morton,  w^ere  not  men  to  leave  their  posts. 

Mr.  Morton  was  not  in  a  position,  during  the  war,  to  render 
that  assistance  to  our  government  which  he  was  afterwards 
able  to  render.  But,  with  the  exception  of  the  months  pre- 
ceding, and  those  immediately  following  the  beginning  of  the 
war,  those  were  not  the  dark  financial  times.  Our  darkest 
financial  period  was  that  which  succeeded  the  panic  of  1873. 
It  was  through  that  period  that  Mr.  Morton  assisted  in  piloting 
our  ship  through  dangerous  waters.  The  suspension  of  specie 
payment  in  1S62  was  the  indication  of  financial  disaster,  but 
the  successful  issue  and  putting  on  the  market,  in  that  year,  of 
the  United  States  notes,  tided  the  government  over  that  diffi- 
culty ;  however  it  portended  future  ruin  in  case  tlie  master 
hands  should  be  taken  away. 

The  Democrats,  during  tiie  administrations  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  war,  had  systematically  drained  the  National 
Treasury,  so  tliat  the  task  of  furnishing  supplies  to  carry  on 
the  war  was  apparently  hopeless.      It  became  necessary,  early 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  267 

in  January,  to  issue  some  kind  of  paper  money  as  the  basis  of 
the  operations  of  the  government.  The  debate  on  tlie  legal- 
tender  clause  of  the  bill  providing  for  this  issue  follovv^ed  ;  the 
clause,  through  the  efforts  of  Secretary  Chase  and  Senator 
Sherman,  was  retained;  the  bill  passed,  February  25,  1862, 
authorizing  the  issue  of  $150,000,000  of  notes  not  bearing  in- 
terest, payable  at  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States.  There 
were  other  issues  ;  and  thus  provision  was  made  for  carrying 
on  the  war. 

But  after  the  war,  the  questions  of  refunding  the  national 
debt  and  of  resuming  specie  payment  arose.  The  latter  was 
not  believed  either  possible  or  expedient  by  the  majority  of 
the  members  of  Congress,  or  by  the  majority  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States.  But  there  were  men  who  saw  that  only  in 
this  way  could  the  country  be  brought  out  of  the  danger  of 
periodical  financial  disaster,  and  perhaps  of  ruin. 

In  1874,  a  committee  of  nine,  having  John  Sherman  as 
chairman,  was  appointed  by  the  Republican  caucus  in  Con- 
gress, to  "secure  concurrence  of  action"  on  the  part  of 
Republican  members.  They  agreed  on  a  bill  fixing  the  time 
for  resumption  January  i,  1S79,  and  the  bill  was  passed  Jan- 
uary 14,  1S75.  This  but  served  to  increase  the  panic  in  the 
country,  and  people  believed  that  the  hard  times  were  caused 
by  the  measure.  They  were  encouraged  in  that  faith  by 
political  managers  of  other  parties,  and  every  possible  eflort 
was  made  to  induce  the  relinquishing  of  the  purpose  of 
resumption. 

But  brave  legislators  and  otiicers,  like  John  Sherman,  in  con- 


268  THE  LIFE  OF 

stant  counsel  with  brave  husiness  men,  like  Levi  P.  Morton, 
said  that  resumption  would  l)e  successfully  accomplished.  In 
April,  1877,  Secretary  Sherman  wrote  to  banking  houses  in 
New  York  City,  and  announced  his  purpose  to  sell  bonds  to 
secure  coin  with  which  to  meet  the  redemptions  required,  pro- 
vided the  surplus  revenue  proved  insufficient  to  enable  him  to 
redeem  the  notes  as  required  by  law.  This  but  increased  the 
storm  of  opposition.  But  they  went  on.  In  October  of  that 
year,  during  the  special  session  of  Congress,  thirteen  bills 
were  introduced  in  one  day,  to  repeal  the  resumption  act.  One 
such  bill,  in  November,  passed  the  House,  but  the  House 
would  not  agree  to  the  amendment  subsequently  made  to  it  by 
the  Senate. 

On  April  5,  1 878,  negotiations  were  begun  in  New  York 
with  certain  bankers,  for  the  sale  of  four-and-a-half  per  cent, 
bonds.  Tliose  bankers  would  not  venture  ;  but  on  that  day  a 
syndicate  proposed  to  take  $50,000,000  at  100  1-2.  This 
syndicate  was  headed  by  Morton,  Bliss  &  Company,  and  fol- 
lowed by  Drexel,  Morgan  &  Company,  Baring  Brothers  & 
Company,  J.  S.  Morgan  &  Company,  N.  M.  Rothschild  & 
Sons,  and  Jay  Cooke,  McCulloch  &  Company. 

These  firms  oeing  known,  inspired  conlidcnce,  autl  resump- 
tion was  assured.  The  payment  was  promj^tlv  met.  Treas- 
urer Sherman  reserved  of  the  proceeds  of  tlie  sales  of  four  per 
cent,  bonds  now  being  made,  an  additional  amount  of 
$5,500,000  in  gold  coin,  for  the  payment  of  that  amount  on 
account  of  the  Halifax  tisheries  award. 

It    is    enough    to    state   that   instructions  were  given  to  the 


LEVI  P.  MORTON. 


269 


officers  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  to  close  up,  in 
their  accounts,  all  distinction  between  coin  and  currency,  and 
after  January  to  recognize  that  the  government  had  resumed 
specie  payment,  and  that  no  difference  in  values  existed 
between  the  several  kinds  of  money  in  circulation.  On  the 
ist  of  January,  so  little  coin  was  demanded  in  payment  from 
the  Treasury,  and  so  much  coin  was  brought  in,  that  the  gov- 
ernment held  more  coin  in  the  evening  than  in  the  morning. 

Thus,  by  the  assistance  of  financial  friends  of  the  country, 
we  were  able  to  see  the  dawn  of  an  era  of  prosperity  that  four 
years  of  a  political  blundering  policy  has  not  been  able  to 
materially  darken.  It  is  thus  illustrated  how  a  man,  apparently 
obscure,  because  he  never  thrust  himself  upon  public  attention, 
but  went  quietly  about  the  duties  of  his  life,  became  a  potent 
influence  in  the  life  of  every  man  in  the  nation. 


f       MRS.  LEVI  PARSONS  MORTON, 

WIFE  OF  THE  HON.    L,    P.    MORTON. 


Chapter  IV. 


CONGRESSIONAL  EXPERIENCE. 

A  SURPRISE  TO  MR.  MORTON  —  NOMINATED  FOR  CONGRESS A  REDUC- 
TION OF  DEMOCRATIC  VOTES  NOMINATED  AGAIN  AN  OVER- 
WHELMING    MAJORITY  A    PROMINENT    POSITION    IN    CONGRESS  

SOME  BILLS  HE  INTRODUCED SPEECH  ON  THE    UNLIMITED    SILVER 

COINAGE  BILL —  SPEECH  ON  THE  BILL  FOR  EXCHANGE  OF  TRADE 
DOLLARS  WITH  LEGAL-TENDER  DOLLARS SPEECH  ON  APPRO- 
PRIATION FOR  INTERNATIONAL  FISHERY  EXHIBITION — CHARAC- 
TERISTICS   OF    THE    MAN    IN    HIS    SPEECHES A    SOCIAL    SUCCESS. 

In  1876,  while  the  Tilden  tide  was  rising  in  New  York,  Mr, 
Morton,  living  in  practically  a  Democratic  district,  received 
quite  a  surprise.  It  was  rather  late  in  the  season,  and  it  was 
to  be  supposed  that  the  man  to  be  nominated  for  Congress 
would  have  had  some  intimation  of  the  intention  on  the  part 
of  his  friends.  But  without  warning,  he  was  nominated  for 
Congress  in  the  Eleventh  District ;  and  was  expected  to  make 
a  canvass  for  congressional  honors.  Moreover,  Mr.  Morton 
did  not  profess  to  be  a  speaker.  He  could  talk  at  the  fireside, 
or  in  the  council  room  ;  and  his  counsel  was  always  good,  and 
when  his  suggestions  were  carried  out,  effective  work  was 
done.     But  he  had  had  little  experience  in  stump  speaking. 

Nevertheless,  he  would  not  disappoint  his  friends  ;  and  so 
he  resolved  to  do  what  he  could  to  stem  the  extraordinary 
Democratic  tide.  He  made  as  thorough  a  canvass  as  was  pos- 
sible in  the  short  time.     His  voice  was  heard,  even  from  the 


272  THE  LIFE  OF 

stump,  as  well  as  on  all  private  occasions,  when  consistent,  in 
favor  of  the  Republican  partv  and  principles.  His  influence 
was  felt  in  the  organization  of  the  district  and  in  the  counsels 
of  the  party.  The  result  was  that  he  took  400  votes  from  the 
usual  Democratic  majority.  It  was  really  a  victory,  and  was 
the  beginning  of  greater  success  to  come  afterwards. 

In  1878,  Mr.  Morton  was  appointed  Honorary  Commis- 
sioner to  the  Paris  Exposition.  There  were  some  positions 
that  he  felt  himself  especially  adapted  for,  and  this  was  one  of 
them,  although  it  was  but  honorary,  and  did  not  call  out  his 
full  talents  which  lay  in  that  direction.  That  was  reserved  for 
the  future.  Yet  to  be,  in  any  sense,  a  representative  of  Amer- 
ica to  France,  requires  more  than  a  mathematical  or  system- 
atic business  talent.  It  requires  an  address  and  tact  that  are 
the  result  only  of  a  geniality  of  spirit  and  broad  personality. 
Frenchmen  may  have  French  ways  of  thinking  and  conform 
to  French  customs  without  these  qualities,  l)ut  Americans  can- 
not do  so  without  them. 

In  the  fall  of  187S,  encouraged  by  what  was  reall}-  a  suc- 
cess before,  Mr.  Morton  consented  to  make  the  race  again  for 
Congress.  Having  now^  more  time,  and  the  cause,  if  possible, 
more  than  ever  at  heart,  he  made  such  a  vigorous  canvass  that 
he  received  a  larger  majority  than  the  number  of  all  the  votes 
of  his  opponent. 

He  moved  to  Washington,  and  took  his  seat  March  iS,  1879, 
in  the  Forty-sixth  Congress.  The  houses  were  convened 
by  President  Hayes,  "  in  anticipation  of  the  day  fixed  by  law 
for  tiieir  next  meeting,"  because  the  Forty-fifth  Congress  had 
adjourned  "without  making  the  usual  and  necessary  appropri- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  273 

ations  for  the  legislative,  executive  and  I'udicial  expenses  of  the 
Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  18S0,  and 
without  making  the  usual  and  necessary  appropriations  for  the 
support  of  the  Army  for  the  same  fiscal  year." 

Mr.  Morton  immediately  took  a  high  position  in  the  legisla- 
tive counsels  and  work,  and  came  to  be  relied  on,  especially  in 
questions  of  finance.  He  introduced,  during  that  term,  sev- 
eral bills,  some  by  special  request.  Among  them  were  the 
following  : 

By  request  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New  York 
City,  a  bill  for  correction  of  certain  errors,  and  amendment  of 
customs-revenue  laws. 

By  request  of  the  American  Geographical  Society,  a  bill 
authorizing  the  Secretary  of  War  to  detail  an  officer  of  the 
Army  to  take  command  of  the  expedition  fitted  out  by  Messrs. 
Morrison  and  Brown,  citizens  of  New  York,  to  search  for  the 
records  of  Sir  John  Franklin's  expedition,  and  to  issue  to  such 
officer  army  equipments. 

A  bill  to  amend  a  certain  section  of  an  act  approved  June 
20,  1S7S,  entitled  '-An  act  making  appropriations  for  sundry 
civil  expenses  of  the  Government  for  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,  1S79,  and  for  other  purposes." 

Mr.  Morton,  April  21,  1879,  was  appointed  on  the  Com- 
mittee on  Foreign  Afiairs.  and  served  acceptably  and  with 
distinction  on  that  committee  until  his  return  home. 

It  w^ill  be  remembered  that  his  taking  his  place  in   Congress 

was  but  a  few  weeks  after  the   resumption  of  specie  payment, 

and  that  his  part  in  that  successful  and  triumphant  measure 

was  not  unknown  liy  his  colleagues.     To    this    fact    may  be 

18 


274  THE  LIFE  OF 

attributed,  in  part,  at  least,  the  high  esteem  in  which  he  was 
considered  by  them,  and  the  confidence  had  in  him  especially 
on  financial  and  foreign  questions.  To  return,  his  successful 
canvass  in  the  fall,  for  his  seat,  may  have  been  due,  largely, 
to  his  prominent  and  successful  transactions  in  behalf  of  the 
government,   that  were  at  that  time  going  on. 

Mr.  Morton  reported,  from  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Afiairs,  and  took  great  interest  in,  a  bill  relating  to  treaty  nego- 
tiations with  Russia,  as  to  American  Israelites  holding  land  in 
Russia.  A  certain  Israelite  had  established  a  large  trade  in 
sewing  machines  in  Russia,  had  bought  a  large  establishment 
for  carrying  on  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  the  machines,  and 
then  found  that  he  could  get  no  title  of  his  property.  The 
bill  was  introduced  with  a  view  to  remedy  that  evil.  It  was 
changed  so  as  to  include  all  American  citizens,  and  was  passed. 

Mr.  Morton  took  an  active  part  against  the  bill  introduced 
by  Mr.  Warner,  of  Ohio,  providing  for  the  unlimited  coinage 
of  silver.  The  following  speech  by  him,  will  not  only  explain 
the  bill  itself,  but  show  Mr.  Morton's  general  position  on  the 
financial  questions  that  agitated  the  country  at  that  time, 
and  his  regard  for  the  rights  of  the  people  as  against  great 
private  interests  and  monopolies  : 

"Mr.  .Speaker:  In  behalf  of  the  district  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent  on  this  floor,  a  district  second  to  none  in  the 
United  States  in  the  magnitude  of  its  business  and  property 
interests,  I  desire  to  protest  against  the  passage  of  the  bill 
now  before  the  House,  which  provides  for  the  unlimited  and 
free  coinage  of  silver  and  the  unlimited  issue  of  certificates 
against  silver  bullion. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  275 

*"  I  believe,  sir,  and  my  constituents  believe,  tbat  this  bill 
means  to-day  the  repudiation  —  pure  and  simple  —  of  one-sixth 
part  of  all  indebtedness,  public  and  private.  What  the  meas- 
ure of  repudiation  in  the  future  may  prove  to  be,  will  be  deter- 
mined alone  by  the  value  of  silver  bullion. 

"  Are  the  interests  of  the  people  to  be  advanced  by  adding 
to  the  colossal  wealth  of  the  owners  of  silver  mines,  or  dis- 
criminating in  favor  of  this  class  of  property  owners  ?  Will 
the  dollar  stamp  of  the  United  States  upon  eighty-four  cents' 
worth  of  silver,  belonging  to  private  individuals,  add  to  the 
wealth  of  the  nation,  or  to  the  private  individual,  the  owner  of 
the  bullion  ?  Has  the  late  coinage  of  silver  in  excess  of  the 
amount  which  has  been  used  as  a  circulating  medium,  now 
stored  in  the  vaults  of  the  Treasury,  added  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  country  ?    Every  one  will  answer  no  ! 

"If  this  bill  is  to  become  a  law,  it  is  inevitable  that  the 
country  will  be  drained,  sooner  or  later,  of  its  gold  and  coin 
bullion,  and  that  silver  will  become  the  sole  unit  of  value,  and 
that,  instead  of  a  double  standard,  we  shall  have  a  single  stand- 
ard, and  that  of  silver. 

"If  this  bill  is  to  become  a  law,  the  German  Government 
and  all  who  have  silver  bullion,  the  world  over,  will  pour  it 
into  our  mints  to  receive  for  every  eighty-four  cents  a  legal-ten- 
der silver  dollar ;  they  will  make,  by  this  simple  process, 
nearly  twenty  per  cent.,  and  our  own  people,  who  will  be 
obliged  to  receive  the  coins  as  legal-tenders,  will  be  the  losers. 

"Coinage  by  the  government  is  propeidy  only  an  official 
attestation  of  the  weight  and  fineness  of  the  metal  stamped  or 
coined.     A   silver  dollar  thus    attested  to-day  should_contain 


276  THE  LIFE  OF 

484.45  grains  as  the  equivalent  ot  a  gold  dollar.  The  present 
values  of  silver  bullion,  in  London,  is  about  fifty  pence  per 
ounce  ;  until  it  is  worth  Hfty-nine  or  sixty  pence,  the  govern- 
ment should  have  the  prolit,  if  the  fraud  of  stamping  eighty- 
four  cents  as  worth  a  hundrctl  is  to  continue. 

"  If  this  bill  is  to  become  a  law  of  the  land,  its  title  should 
be  changed  to  read,  '  An  act  for  the  relief  of  the  owners  of 
silver  mines^'  and  an  appropriation  made  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  ele\ators  and  warehouses  for  the  storage  of  silver  coin 
and  bulHon.  If  the  owners  of  silver  bullion  can  have  their 
propcrt\-  carried  by  the  government,  as  this  bill  proposes,  and 
can  have  certificates  of  its  tleposit  made  a  legal-tender  for  all 
dues  to  the  United  States,  including  custom-house  duties,  why 
not  clothe  bonded-warehouse  receipts  and  all  other  representa- 
tives of  property  with  the  same  functions  of  money.'' 

"  My  constituents  are  not  the  owners  of  silver  mines,  but 
they  are  largel\-  interested  in  cotton,  wheat,  corn,  flour,  iron 
and  coppei-.  \\'h\  should  not  the  government  receive  all 
these  and  other  pioducts  of  the  earth  on  storage,  issue  certifi- 
cates, and  make  them  also  a  legal-tender.?  And  if  the  supply 
of  mone\-  should  be  still  iiisuflicient  to  satisfy  the  honorable 
gentleman  from  Ohio  (Mr.  Warner),  receive  also  titles  of  real 
estate,  issue  money  certificates,  and  so  continue  until  every 
species  of  property  becomes  a  part  of  the  currency  of  the  coun- 
tv\?  'i'hen  w f  can  issue  for  general  distribution,  pledging 
whatever  may  remain  of  the  faith  and  honor  of  the  Nation, 
the  billion  of  greenbacks  asked  for  by  the  reverend  and  distin- 
guished gentleman  who  occupies  a  seat  on  this  floor  (Rev. 
Dc  La  Matyr,  of  Indiana). 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  277 

"No,  Mr.  Speaker,"  renewed  and  continued  prosperity  can- 
not be  secured  in  this  manner. 

"  The  only  safe  way,  in  my  opinion,  is  to  stop  the  coinage 
of  silver  altogether,  and  to  say  to  the  leading  commercial 
nations  of  the  world,  '  We  will  not  attempt  to  help  you  out  of 
your  troubles  until  you  agree  with  us  to  use  silver  as  a  measure 
of  value.  We  are  ready  to  enter  into  such  a  mutual  compact 
with  vou  as  will  have  the  eflect  of  restoring  silver  to  its  old 
steadiness  of  value,  so  that  it  may  again  be  a  measure  of  other 
values.' 

"  Let  us  not  attempt  to  force  the  issue  of  silver  beyond  the 
amount  which  can  be  used  as  a  circulating  medium,  until 
European  nations  will  join  with  us  in  making  silver  currency 
equivalent  in  value  to  gold.  Let  us  rather  maintain  the  honor 
and  good  faith  of  the  nation  at  home  and  abroad  ;  retain  and 
maintain  a  gold  standard,  the  commercial  standard  of  value 
throughout  the  world,  and,  in  my  opinion,  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  the  city  of  New  York  will  be  the  clearing-house 
for  the  commercial  exchanges  of  the  world." 

Mr.  Morton  took  part  in  the  discussion  of  the  bill  "  to  pre- 
vent the  exportation  of  diseased  cattle,  and  the  spread  of  con- 
tagious and  infectious  diseases  among  domestic  animals."  He 
submitted  a  letter  from  gentlemen  in  New  York,  setting  forth 
the  inefficiency  of  the  laws  on  that  subject  then  in  force,  and 
praying  for  a  law  that  would  protect  honest  men  in  exporta- 
tions,  and  their  honor  as  well  as  that  of  the  country. 

He  also  made  a  speech  against  the  1)111  introduced  by  Mr. 
Fort,  of  Illinois,  providing  for  the   exchange  of  trade  dollars 


278  THE  LIFE  OF 

for  legal-tcMulcr  dollars.  The  following  is  his  speech  upon 
that  question  : 

"  Mr.  Speaker  :  —  A  few  weeks  since,  the  honorable  gen- 
tleman from  Ohio  introduced  a  bill  for  the  relief  of  the  owners 
of  silver  mines  and  silver  ])ullion  in  the  United  States  and 
Europe,  and  now  the  distinguished  gentleman  from  Georgia 
(A.  H.  Stephens,  who  had  reported  back  the  bill  from  the 
Committee  on  Coinage,  Weights  and  Measures)  presents  a  bill 
for  the  relief  of  the  subjects  of  the  Emperor  of  China. 

"  In  February,  1873,  when  the  act  was  passed  authorizing  the 
coinage  of  the  trade  dollar,  it  was  worth  a  fraction  over  $i.O-| 
in  gold.  They  were  not  coined  as  money,  or  for  circulation 
at  home,  but  for  export,  and  as  a  measure  of  value  in  trade,  as 
their  title  indicates.  They  were,  however,  made  a  legal-ten- 
der for  $i^.oo  in  any  one  payment ;  but  the  people  of  the  Pacific 
States  objected  to  their  circulation,  and  on  the  8th  of  May,  1876, 
the  distinguished  gentleman,  now  Speaker  of  the  House, 
introduced  a  bill  repealing  the  legal-tender  ([uality  of  these 
coins. 

"On  the  loth  of  June,  1876,  my  tlistinguished  colleague 
from  New  York  (Mr.  Cox)  reported  the  measure,  and  it 
passed  both  Houses  of  Congress  without  an  opposing  vote  or 
voice.  All  of  these  coins  held  at  home  were  put  in  circulation 
months  after  they  had,  by  the  action  of  the  present  Speaker 
and  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  ceased  to  be  a  legal-tender 
for  any  amount. 

"  While  I  should  favor  an  exchange  of  legal-tender  silver 
for  the  trade  dollar  which  speculators  have  palmed  off  upon  our 
citizens,  if  that  alone  could  be  done,  1  am  opposed  to  the  pas- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  279 

sage  of  this  bill,  which  discriminates  against  our  people  and 
in  favor  of  the  owners  of  silver  in  China,  and  for  other  reasons. 
The  Director  of  the  Mint,  in  his  last  annual  report,  estimated 
that  not  less  than  six  millions  of  trade  dollars,  all  of  which 
were  coined  for  exportation,  were  held  in  the  United  States, 
and  about  thirty  millions  in  China,  where  they  circulate  as 
money,  and  are,  I  believe,  a  legal-tender  at  their  bullion 
value.  The  trade  dollar  is  worth  to-day  about  ninety  cents, 
which  would  make  the  value  of  the  thirty  millions  held  in 
China,  worth  $37,000,000.  Now,  if  this  bill  becomes  a  law, 
we  shall,  so  long  as  the  government  can  maintain  legal-tender 
silver  dollars  at  par  in  gold,  be  paying  to  the  holders  of  trade 
dollars  in  China  $30,000,000  in  gold  for  twenty-seven  millions' 
worth  of  silver,  or  $3,000,000  more  than  we  can  buy  the  same 
quantity  of  silver  for  of  our  own  citizens. 

"  The  first  silver  bill  which  the  honorable  gentleman  from 
Ohio  presented,  proposed  a  discrimination  in  favor  of  silver 
mine  and  bullion  owners  in  the  United  States  and  Europe, 
of  nearly  twenty  per  cent.,  and  now  the  gentleman  from  Geor- 
gia proposes  a  discrimination  of  eleven  per  cent,  in  favor  of 
Chinese  subjects.  I  shall  be  glad  to  know  how  the  gentleman 
proposes  to  provide  the  thirty  millions  in  gold  necessary  to 
carry  out  the  provisions  of  this  bill,  if  it  becomes  a  law.  The 
gentleman  certainly  cannot  expect  to  exchange  dollars  of  41 2 
1-2  grains  with  the  trade  dollars  of  420  grains. 

"  Since  the  demonetization  of  silver  in  1878,  the  government 
has  coined  33,485,950  of  the  '  dollars  of  the  fathers,'  which  it 
was  claimed  would  be  eagerly  sought  for,  and  how  many  of 
these  tlollars  does  the  gentleman  suppose  was  in  circulation  on 


28o  THE  LIFE  OF 

the  1st  of  June?  One  dollar  for  every  family  or  party  of  six 
in  the  United  States,  a  total  of  7,304,915  in  a  country  with  a 
population  of  45,000,000,  leaving  26,181,045  stored  in  the 
vaults  of  the  Treasury,  and  carried  by  the  government. 

"  At  the  end  of  the  next  fiscal  year,  without  any  new  legis- 
lation, we  shall  have  59,485,950  silver  dollars,  and  if  the  peo- 
ple have  no  more  anxiety  to  secure  them  than  heretofore,  the 
government  will  then  be  warehousing  and  carrying  al)out 
forty-seven  millions. 

"If  the  36,000,000  of  trade  dollars  are  to  be  added,  the 
appalling  total  on  the  30th  of  June,  iSSo,  will  be  over  ninety- 
five  millions. 

"  Do  the  gentlemen  who  favor  this  measure  wish  to  donate 
$3,000,000  to  the  holders  of  trade  dollars  in  China?  Do  they 
wish,  in  view  of  the  sale  for  gold  coins,  since  the  demonetiza- 
tion of  silver  in  1S73,  of  $1,299,000,000  of  United  States 
bonds,  and  the  reduction  since  1S65  of  nearly  six  hundred  mil- 
lions of  principal  and  sixty-seven  millions  in  the  annual  inter- 
est charge,  to  press  the  increased  coinage  of  silver,  and  hazard 
the  credit  of  the  government  by  adding  a  sum  to  the  amount 
of  silver  coin  in  the  vaults  of  the  Treasury,  wliich  may  force 
the  government  to  pay  these  bonds  in  depreciated  silver,  or 
coin  of  less  value  than  that  which  the  government  demanded 
and  received  when  the  bonds  were  sold  ? 

"Mr.  Speaker,  I  think  our  only  safe  way  is,  instead  of 
increasing  the  coinage  of  silver,  to  stop  it  altogether,  and  wait 
the  result  of  negotiations  with  European  nations,  for  which 
we  have  made  an  appropriation.  Let  us  secure  such  joint 
action  \yith  otlu-r  nations  as  will  restore  siKer  to  its  old  steadi- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  281 

ness  of  value,  and  thus  provide  a  market  throughout  the 
world  for  our  silver  product.  I  am  in  favor  of  a  bimetallic 
currency,  whenever  such  joint  action  can  be  secured,  and  a 
dollar's  worth  of  silver  is  coined  in  a  silver  dollar.  The  dis- 
tinguished gentleman  from  Georgia,  and  those  who  act  with 
him,  on  the  contrary,  aim  to  make  this  country  a  monometallic 
country  ;  to  drive  all  our  gold  to  Europe,  and  to  confine  the 
silver  market  to  the  United  States,  thus  limiting  the  demand, 
lowering  the  value  of  our  silver  product,  and  compelling  us  to 
be  monometallists.  We  cannot  maintain  a  double  standard, 
except  upon  a  basis  of  absolute  equality,  for  the  cheaper, 
poorer  money  will  always  drive  the  best  out  of  circulation. 

"  The  German  Government  has,  within  a  few  weeks,  with- 
drawn its  silver  from  the  market ;  the  question  of  the  demone- 
tization of  silver  in  Germany  and  England  has  been  under 
discussion,  and  now  the  bullion  value  of  the  standard  dollar, 
which  was  recently  at  eighty-four  cents,  is  about  eighty-eight- 
and-a-half  cents. 

"We  can,  in  my  opinion,  only  maintain  a  double  standard 
by  joint  action  with  European  nations,  and  any  attempt  to  do 
it  single-handed,  or  to  largely  increase  the  coinage  of  silver 
legal-tender  dollars,  will,  in  my  judgment,  bring  great  disaster 
upon  the  business  interests  of  the  whole  country. 

"  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  be  willing  to  withdraw  the  bill, 
or  to  defer  its  further  consideration,  until  joint  action  with 
European  nations  can  be  secured." 

On  the  4th  of  February,  18S0,  during  the  second  session  of 
that  Congress,    Mr.    Morton    made    a    speech    upon    the    bill 


283  THE  LIFE  OF 

favoring  an  appropriation  of  $20,000  for  tlie  representing  of 
the  United  States  in  the  International  Fishery  Exhibition,  at 
Berlin.  The  question  discussed  was  not  one  with  which  the 
people  generally  were  acquainted;  perhaps  because  politicians 
had  not  kept  it  before  them.  But  it  was  one  of  much  impor- 
tance to  the  country,  nevertheless,  as  will  appear  from  the 
following  outline  of  Mr.  Morton's  speech  : 

"At  first  glance,"  he  said,  "the  proposition  to  expend 
money  in  an  International  Fishery  Exhibition,  at  Berlin,  is  apt 
to  be  viewed  with  indifterence.  This  indifference  has  existed 
for  years,  and  was  never  more  manifest  than  at  this  time. 

"  The  production  of  fish  is  a  source  of  national  wealth.  In  the 
early  history  of  the  world,  it  was  a  preventative  of  famine  and 
distress.  Experience  has  shown  that,  while  fish  is  a  luxury  of 
the  rich,  it  is  preeminently  the  poor  man's  food.  This  is  under- 
stood thoroughly  in  countries  where  food-production  and  cheap 
living  are  carried  to  the  greatest  perfection. 

"  If  properly  developed,  the  price  offish  would  be  so  much 
lowered,  that  the  man  w'ho  could  not  buy  would  be  rare  indeed  ; 
and  so  little  capital  is  needed  for  the  business  that  there  would 
be  sufficient  profit  left  to  those  who  carry  it  on. 

"One  of  these  exhibitions  was  held  in  Norway,  in  1865,  at 
wliich  the  fish  of  all  the  great  countries,  and  many  of  the 
lesser  ones,  were  well  represented  ;  l)ut  our  country  sent  only  a 
few  contributions.  ....... 

"  The  French  Government  has  given  so  much  material  aid 
to  this  business  of  fish  culture,  that  nearly  all  her  waste  waters 
have  been  turned  into  nests  for  the  propogation  offish. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  383 

"It  is  only  necessary  to  call  the  attention  of  the  public  to 
this  subject  for  it  to  appear  that  there  is  not  a  state  which  is 
not  interested  in  the   matter. 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  not  many  years  ago  the  vast  internal  im- 
provements of  this  country — the  erection  of  mills,  dams,  and 
factories  —  threatened  the  extinction  of  the  most  valuable 
species  of  fish  in  our  rivers.  This  calamity  was  prevented  by 
the  timely  discovery  of  the  art  of  propagating  fish  by  artificial 
means  ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  demand  was  greatly  increased 
through  the  aid  of  railroads,  which  have  made  transportation 
in  a  brief  time  easy  between  lemote  points. 

"In  1840-50,  salmon  cost  twenty  times  the  price  it  com- 
manded when  we  ceased  to  be  Colonies  of  Great  Britain. 
The  Connecticut  River,  which  had  been  one  of  the  most  fertile 
fish  streams  in  the  world,  became  almost  depleted. 

"This  result  is  due  to  a  discovery  made  in  Germany,  and 
afterwards  in  France,  that  fish  can  be  propogated  to  almost 
any  extent  by  artificial  means.  This  simple  discovery  has  led 
to  the  creation  of  one  of  the  most  important  industries  of 
modern  times.  The  nations  of  the  world  have  derived  incal- 
culable benefit  from  this  discovery,  and  we  are  now  invited  to 
join  in  an  international  comparison  of  the  character  of  our  fish 
and  the  methods  of  our  fish  culture.  It  is  to  this  science  to 
which  I  have  referred,  and  which  this  resolution  is  designed 
to  encourage  and  extend,  that  we  owe  the  restocking  of  our 
waters  —  to  this  we  owe  the  fact  that  millions  of  young  shad 
were  hatched  at  Holyoke,  Massachusetts,  and  turned  into  the 
Connecticut  River. 

"In  view  of  the  possibilities  ot  our  shores,  our  measureless 


284 


THE  LIFE  OF 


streams,  and  our  inland  seas,  we  should  lead  all  the  nations  in 
the  world  in  availing  ourselves  of  every  item  of  information  on 
a  subject  of  such  importance  to  our  people  and  their  industries. 
The  annual  value  of  salmon  alone,  in  Ireland,  is  now  about 
$2,500,000,  while  in  this  country  it  averages  from  thirty  to 
forty  cents  a  pound.  The  oyster  beds  in  Virginia  alone, 
cover  about  1,700,000  acres,  containing  800.000,000  bushels, 
'{'he  following  are  a  few  figures,  showing  the  comparative  pro- 
duction and  consumption  of  tish  by  the  leading  nations  of  the 
world  : 


Norway,  . 

Fiance,    . 
United  Slates, 
Great  Britain, 
Russia,     . 


Annual  Prodict. 


$13,600,000 

i2,8«7.ooo 
8,898  000 
7,803,800 
5,745,000 


Annual  Consumption. 


$1,000,000 
9,845.786 
8,777,000 
9,429,000 
8,659,000 


"The  United  States  exported,  in  iS7_(,  about  $2,200,000 
worth. 

''It  appears  from  this  statement  that,  in  1874,  Norway  anil 
France,  each  smaller  than  some  of  our  states,  produced  re- 
specti\el\'  one-third  more  hsii  than  tlie  Uniteti  .States.  In  1S62 
the  tonnage  of  American  ships  engaged  in  the  sea  fisheries 
amotmted  to  204,197  ;  in  1874,  it  had  fallen  to  78,290  tons. 


"  In  the   flsli   trade  in  1S65,   Norwa)-   liad  a  balance  ot"  tiade 
in  her  favor   of    $12,588,975.      Why   was  this.'     Because   she 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  285 

resorted  to  fish  production,  as  it  is  proposed  the  United  States 
should  do. 

"In  1867,  we  imported  about  as  much  fish  as  we  exported. 
If  we  devoted  sufficient  energy  to  the  business,  we  could  ex- 
port one  hundred  times  as  much,  and  need  import  none  at  all. 

"■  Fish  culture  is  in  its  infancy.  Its  resources  are  immeas- 
ureable.  It  may  approximate,  and  even  rival,  agriculture  in 
importance.  Its  development  will  give  employment  to  large 
numbers  of  men,  and  bring  food  within  the  means  of  the  poor 
as  well  as  the  rich.  The  propriety  and  utility  of  international 
exhibitions,  where  the  representatives  of  our  nation  can  learn 
the  nature  of  the  products  of  others,  as  well  as  show  its  own  in 
universal  market,  can  no  longer  be  questioned. 

"  The  naturalization  in  our  waters  of  European  fish  is  a  sub- 
ject that  should  receive  careful  attention,  and  by  a  comparison 
of  views  in  this  body  of  scientific  men  much  may  be  learned 
as  to  the  nature  and  kinds  of  foreign  fish  which  thrive  in  our 
waters.  ......... 

"This  international  exhibition  is  conducted,  directly  under 
the  patronage  of  the  German  Government,  by  the  German 
Fisheries  Association,  a  body  consisting  of  prominent  persons 
most  eminent  in  fish  culture  and  fisheries.  Almost  every 
nation  in  the  world,  having  diplomatic  relations  with  Germany, 
has  accepted  the  invitation  —  exceptionally  complete  exhibi- 
tions being  promised  by  China,  Japan,  and  Siam.  The 
United  States  alone  has  given  no  response,  nor  made  arrange- 
ments to  participate.  As  a  matter  of  international  comity,  it 
would  be  eminently  proper  for  the  United  States  to  take 
part." 


286  THE  LIFE  OF 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  extracts  given  of  this  speech,  that 
Mr.  Morton,  while  in  Congress,  took  interest  in  other  subjects 
besides  those  connected  immediately  with  questions  of  finance. 
And  it  will  be  seen,  not  only  from  these  extracts,  but  from  the 
other  speeches  given,  that  he  was  always  on  that  side  which 
favored  the  interests  of  the  people.  No  man  was  ever  in  a 
better  position  for  influencing  legislation  in  behalf  of  the 
moneyed  classes  alone,  and  hence  in  his  own  personal  interest, 
than  Mr.  Morton.  He  had  means  at  his  hand,  and  could  have 
been  in  league  with  rich  lobbyists.  But  he  was  found  always 
on  the  side  of  the  people,  and  interested  in  legislation  in  their 
behalf. 

Another  fact  appears  from  the  speeches  and  extracts  given. 
Mr.  Morton  was  thoroughly  informed  on  all  the  leading  ques- 
tions before  Congress.  He  did  not  sufler  himself  to  open  his 
mouth  nor  to  vote,  unless  he  knew  what  he  w^as  doing.  He 
had  not  only  entered  the  Congress  hall,  a  well-read,  well- 
informed  and  broadly  cultured  man,  Init  sought  to  more 
thoroughly  inform  himself  upon  those  questions  that  came 
before  him  for  his  conscieutious  consideration,  in  behalf  of  his 
constituents  and  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Morton's  social  career,  while  in  Wasliington,  was  most 
brilliant.  Of  great  social  spiritand  tact,  hesoughtto  surround 
himself  with  circumstances  and  influences  of  that  nature.  He 
realized  also  that  a  man  may  do  more  efl'ective  work,  if  his 
talents  appear  in  their  own  peculiar  setting.  No  man  can 
work  so  well  when  his  environments  make  it  awkward  for  him, 
as  when  he  lives  in  that  atmosphere  to  which  he  has  become 
accustomed. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON. 


287 


Mr.  Morton  bought  the  house  of  Mr.  Samuel  Hooper,  fitted 
it  up  elegantly  but  not  gaudily —  he  and  his  wife  were  both  of 
too  pure  taste  to  endure  that  which  was  merely  for  display  in 
any  of  their  surroundings  —  and  here  he  entertained  his 
friends  in  state,  and  Mrs.  Morton  reigned  socially.  The  rep- 
utation of  the  latter  for  presiding  at  social  entertainments  and 
leading  in  the  social  circle,  had  preceded  her  to  Washington, 
and  her  home  became  the  centre  of  attraction  for  all  who  were 
so  fortunate  as  to  be  included  in  the  long  list  of  her  friends. 
She  led  in  society  at  Washington,  as  well  as  she  had  led  in 
society  at  New  York,  and  her  great  social  qualities,  enabling 
her  to  be  equal  to  every  emergency,  conduced  no  little  to  her 
husband's  successful  congressional  career. 


Chapter  V. 


MINISTER  TO  FRANCE. 

THE  CAMPAIGN  OF   1880  —  MR.   MORTON  DECLINES    THE    OFFER    OF    VICE- 
PRESIDENCY    DECLINES     THE      SECRETARYSHIP    OF    THE    NAVY  

ACCEPTS    THE    OFFER    OF     MINISTER     TO    FRANCE   —   WELL     FITTED 

FOR    THE    POST  REMOVAL    OF    AMERICAN    LEGATION     OFFICE  —  A 

POLITICAL  GATHERING  PLACE  —  THE  MORTON  ENTERTAINMENTS 
IN     FRANCE  —  MRS.     MORTON'S      SOCIAL     TACT     AND      SKILL  —  THE 

DISABILITY     REMOVED       FROM       AMERICAN       CORPORATIONS  THE 

AMERICAN  HOG  —  A  SERIES  OF  IMPORTANT  ACTS  —  TARIFF  OX 
FRENCH  ART —  BIRTHPLACE  OF  LAFAYETTE  —  MINISTER  MORTON's 
SPEECH  —  PRESENTATION  AND  RECEPTION  OF  BARTHOLDl's  STA- 
TUE   OF"  LIBERTY  ENLIGHTENING  THE   WORLD"  TWO  SPEECHES. 

One  of  the  most  brilliant  periods  of  Mr.  Morton's  career 
was  now  at  hand. 

When  the  Republican  Convention  of  iSSo  had  nominated 
James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  for  President  of  the  United  States, 
it  then  turned  to  New  York  to  find  a  candidate  for  Vice-Pres- 
ident. The  Ohio  delegation  especially  sought  out  Mr.  Mor- 
ton, and  urged  him  to  permit  his  name  to  be  used  for  that 
nomination.  He  declined  the  honor,  and  the  choice  then  fell 
on  Chester  A.  Arthur. 

During  that  campaign,  which  led  to  such  successful  issue, 
Mr.  Morton,  in  his  characteristic  manner,  gave  the  weight  of 
his  influence  to  the  election  of  Garfield  and  Arthur.  He  did 
this  by  his  frank  social  manner  and  skill,  by  speaking  always, 
on  public  and  private  occasions,  just  when  there  was  a  demand 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  289 

tor  it,  and  stating  clearly  and  urging  his  convictions,  and  cast- 
ing his  whole  social,  business,  and  public  influence  upon  that 
side. 

When  the  ticket  was  triumphant.  President  Garfield,  in  tes- 
timony of  the  confidence  he  had  always  had  in  Mr.  Morton's 
abilities,  oflered  him  the  port-folio  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 
But  Mr.  Morton  could  not  be  persuaded  to  accept  an  oflice  if 
he  thought  that  other  men  might  better  fill  it,  and  he  therefore 
declined  to  take  the  oflered  position.  But  when  the  position  of 
minister  to  France  was  proposed  to  him,  he  accepted  it. 

He  was  not  unacquainted  with  the  French  capital,  nor  the 
important  work  at  that  time  to  be  done  there  by  the  American 
minister,  whomever  he  might  be.  He  knew  the  tact  and  di- 
plomacy then  necessary  to  do  w^hat  ought  to  be  done.  Yet  he 
knew  his  own  power  among  people  preeminently  social,  and  it 
is  to  his  credit  that  he  desired  to  lift  the  American  standard 
higher,  and  to  advance  American  commeixial  and  social  in- 
terests, in  the  sister  republic,  and  also  to  promote  the  har- 
mony and  friendship  of  the  two  nations.  Nor  is  it  to  his  dis- 
credit that  he  deemed  it  desirable,  with  his  family,  to  spend  a 
time  in  France,  as  there  w^as  a  culture  to  be  given  to  his  chil- 
dren by  means  of  it,  and  there  w^ere  benefits  and  pleasures  to 
be  derived  from  it  by  his  wife  and  himself. 

So,  early  in  the  summer  of  1881,  Mr.  Morton  and  his  fam- 
ily embarked  for  the  gay  French  capital.  Arriving  there,  he 
received  a  cordial  welcome,  both  by  French  officials  and  the 
American  colony.  He  at  once  proved  his  fitness  for  the  high 
position,  by  his  social  and  diplomatic  tact.  His  advent  into 
France  was  in  the  days  of  M.  Gambetta,  and  he  soon  won  that 

19 


290  THE  LIFE  OF 

renowned  President's  friendship  and  esteem.  This  friendship 
continued  until  Gambetta's  death,  and  was  not  only  a  source 
of  pleasure  to  Mr.  Morton,  but  was  of  great  help  to  him  as 
minister  of  the   United  States.         ^ 

Again,  Mr.  Morton  was  already  well  and  favorably  known 
by  the  leading  men  of  France.  His  vast  commercial  transac- 
tions alone  would  have  been  sufficient  to  bring  this  about. 
But  he  had  also,  in  1878,  been  Honorary  Commissioner  to  the 
Paris  Exposition.  Also,  his  public  services  in  the  United 
States,  not  only  in  Congress,  but  in  commercial  services,  had 
been  matters  of  world-wide  knowledge. 

Add  to  these  Mr.  Morton's  perfect  manners,  his  suavity,  his 
great  financial  ability,  his  diplomatic  shrewdness  and  tact, 
his  knowledge  of  men,  and  it  is  seen  at  once  that  no  man 
could  have  been  selected,  of  greater  fitness  for  the  French  post. 
It  will  be  seen,  in  the  outcome,  that  President  Garfield  mani- 
fested great  judgment  in  sending  such  a  man,  and  if  all  the 
appointments  of  all  the  Presidents  were  as  fitting  as  this  one, 
the  reform  of  the   civil  service  would    soon    be  accomplished. 

Mr.  Morton  was  able  and  faithful,  and  too  conscientious,  to 
use  any  office  he  might  have  for  political  influence.  Moreover, 
it  was  characteristic  of  him  that  his  office  became  such  a  part 
of  his  life  that  it  assumed  to  him  the  interest  of  a  social  oppor- 
tunity ;  and  the  more  he  so  considered  it,  the  more  faithful 
he  was  in  his  office.  Mr.  Morton's  duties  as  minister  became 
liis  chief  interest,  and  his  first  act  on  arriving,  indicated  his 
methods. 

General  Noyes,  Mr.  Morton's  predecessor  in  office,  though 
he  received  a  salary  of  $17,000  per  annum,  kept  the  headquar- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  291 

ters  of  the  American  Legation  in  dingy  apartments  in  an 
unsavory  locality.  It  was  situated  over  a  laundry  and  a  gro- 
cery store  on  Rue  de  Chaillot.  Among  people  like  the  French, 
this  was  not  to  be  tolerated  as  respectable.  It  became  a  mat- 
ter of  ridicule  and  jest,  and  during  all  the  time  it  was  there, 
for  that  and  other  reasons,  American  aftairs  were  not  highly 
respected  ;  and  many  laws  and  customs  existed  that  worked 
decidedly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Morton  determined  at  once  on  i^emoving  the  Legation. 
He  had  no  taste  for  a  business  whose  environments  were 
beneath  its  own  dignity,  and  he  had  the  pride  of  his  own 
country  too  much  at  heart  to  allow,  if  possible  to  prevent  it, 
even  the  shadow  of  excuse  for  its  disparagement  by  the  people 
of  other  nations.  He  felt  himself  under  obligations  to  do  all 
in  his  power  to  accomplish  his  mission  in  the  best  manner,  and 
with  most  credit  to  the  United  States. 

Fronting  a  park  known  as  Place  de  la  Biche,  was  a  magnifi- 
cent mansion,  built  seven  years  before  by  a  prince.  This  was 
secured  by  Mr.  Morton,  and  furnished  in  royal  style  ;  for  the 
drawing-room  he  furnished  with  expensive  furniture  which 
had  been  ordered  by  a  queen,  but  who  was  unable  to  pay  for 
it.  This  was  done  largely  at  Mr.  Morton's  own  expense.  To 
this  superb  building  was  moved  the  otHce  of  the  Legation. 
Thus,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  presentation  of  his  cre- 
dentials as  "  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  United  States  in  France,"  the  American  Legation 
assumed  the  attitude  and  proportions  that  accorded  with  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  the  government  it  represented.  It 
won  a  quick  response  from  the  French,  and  Mr.  Morton  com- 


21)2  THE  LIFE  OF 

maiuled  unbounded  respect ;  and  of  these  facts  the  French 
gave  immediate  evidence  by  changing  the  name  of  the  park  to 
that  of  Place  des  Etats  Unis  —  a  rich  though  merited  compli- 
ment to  Mr.  Morton. 

He  began  at  once  to  exert  a  marked  personal  influence  upon 
the  French  Government.  The  Legation  headquarters  became 
the  gathering-place,  not  only  of  Americans,  but  of  French 
officials  and  dignitaries.  He  thus  brought  together,  in  social 
relations,  Royalists,  Radicals,  and  Republicans,  and  the  diplo- 
matic.corps;  and  he  was  thus  enabled  to  smooth  the  vv^ay  for 
his  diplomatic  success.  Mr.  Morton  showed  great  tact  by  this 
arrangement.  He  knew  that  an  envoy's  success  depended 
much,  especially  in  France,  upon  personal  friendship  and 
social  conduct.  But  he  was  not  a  hypocrite,  and  did  not  cul- 
tivate any  friendship  for  policy  ;  he  was,  rather,  a  friend  by 
nature  to  people  of  refinement  and  culture,  and  had  naturally 
a  keen  appreciation  of  art,  artistic  elegance,  and  all  the  accom- 
paniments of  the  social  life  of  the  refined  and  cultivated.  Yet, 
in  the  midst  of  his  keen  enjoyment  of  such  a  life,  he  not  only 
did  not  forget,  but  i<ept  as  his  chief  aim,  the  mission  on  which 
he  had  come  ;  and  it  was  a  marked  evidence  of  his  great  tact 
that,  in  all  his  social  intercourse,  he  met  the  French  people  as 
the  minister  of  the  United  States,  and  not  as  a  mere  gentleman 
of  elegance.  His  friendship  for  Gambetta  was  cordial  and 
sincere  ;  but  that  great  man,  by  reason  of  no  pompous  flaunt- 
ing of  official  emblem  in  his  face  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Morton, 
was  ever  conscious  that  his  own  frientlship  was  for  the  L^nited 
States  Minister  to  France. 

In  this  spirit  Mr.  Morton  began   a   series  of  entertainments, 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  293 

given  to  the  Americans  in  France,  and  to  Frenciimen.  These 
greatly  increased  his  popularity.  In  these  he  was  most  ably, 
skillfully,  and  wisely  assisted  by  his  wife.  Her  matchless  skill 
in  entertaining  has  already  been  spoken  of;  and  it  was  well, 
while  in  France,  that  she  had  this  art.  But  she  used  it  always 
as  an  American  lady  should  ;  for  she  did  not  adopt  manners 
nor  customs,  unless  her  independent  taste  and  judgment  pro- 
nounced them  good.  An  instance  of  her  American  way  ot 
doing  things,  in  spite  of  the  contrast  it  made  between  herself 
and  French  ladies,  may  be  related  of  their  early  days  in  that 
gay  and  exactingly  polite  country. 

The  people  of  Rouen  invited  the  new  minister  and  liis  wife 
to  ?ifete  of  several  days.  The  time  was  spent  in  entertainments, 
excursions,  and  in  whatever  their  entertainers  could  devise 
for  the  honoring  of  their  guests.  One  day  there  was  an  excur- 
sion upon  the  Seine  to  Yietat,  made  famous  by  the  songs  of  Ber- 
anger.  There  was  a  party  of  twenty-five,  not  the  least  con- 
spicuous of  whom  was  the  mayor  of  Rouen.  A  breakfast 
was  served,  and  ai'ound  it  were  gathered  the  twenty-five,  repre- 
senting vast  wealth,  and  displaying  all  the  ceremony  that 
rural  Rouen  could  display.  The  mayor  sat  next  to  Mrs.  Mor- 
ton. He  desired  to  propose  a  toast  to  her.  With  great  pomp, 
and  an  airy  parade  of  words,  he  notified  them  that,  whereas 
Monsieur  le  Ministre  had  been  toasted  nine  times  the  day  be- 
fore, and  had  nine  times  responded,  he  must  by  this  time  be 
weary  with  speech-making.  He  (the  mayor)  considered  that 
Mme.  Morton  should  now  be  honored,  and  should  have  a 
greater  part  in  the  festivities.  He  then  made  a  complimentary 
speech,  and  proposed  her  health. 


294  THE  LIFE  OF 

Mrs.  Morton  here  astonished  the  French  people  present,  by 
an  act  that  gave  them  to  understand  at  once  that  she  expected 
to  totally  ignore  the  social  tyranny  under  which  French  wo- 
men were  compelled  to  live.  She  was  not  to  be  merely  a  pretty 
figure  in  society,  and  to  receive  compliments  thrown  at  her  in 
dumb  silence  and  as  a  matter  of  course.  Slic  spoke  out  in  fluent, 
idiomatic  French,  in  a  truly  dignified  and  gracious  and  pleas- 
ant manner,  but  with  thorough  American  courage  and  inde- 
pendence, and  made  a  neat  reply,  complimenting  the  French, 
and  Rouen  in  particular.  Her  womanliness  was  acknowl- 
edged at  once,  and  cheer  after  cheer  rang  round  the  table  in  ap- 
preciation of  that  and  the  merit  of  her  reply.  It  was  a  bold 
thing  to  do,  but  it  was  a  triumph  for  her  and  her  sex,  even  in 
France. 

Under  the  social  circumstances  now  fully  inaugurated,  Mr. 
Morton  began  to  reap  success  as  minister  to  France.  When  he 
made  his  advent  in  France,  American  corporations  were  labor- 
ing under  the  great  disadvantage  of  being  unable  to  collect 
any  debt  that  was  owing  them  anywhere  in  the  French  Re- 
public, or  from  any  French  citizen  there  of  whatever  grade. 
Insiu'ance  companies,  banks,  even  the  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Company,  were  thus  at  the  mercy  of  Frenchmen  who 
refused  to  pay.  It  may  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  the  un-in- 
formed,  but  there  was  only  one  country  that  was  then  under  tiiis 
disability,  and  that  was  the  United  States.  In  the  Journal 
Officiel^  August  9,  1S82,  was  pul)lished  the  decree  that 
relieved  our  corporations  from  tliis  discrimination.  The  ad- 
vantage that  has  accrued  to  these  corporations  on  account  of 
this  relief  is  very  great;  and.  taking  all  of  tliem  together,  and 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  295 

their  trade  in  France,  an  advantage  scarcely  to  be  estimated 
has  been  derived  from  it  by  the  United  States.  The  Equitable 
Life  Assurance  Society,  the  New  York  Life  Insurance  Com- 
pany, the  Singer  Manufacturing  Company,  and,  indeed,  every 
company  in  America  that  does  business  in  France  will  to-day 
testify  to  the  great  good  that  came  to  them  by  reason  of  eman- 
cipation from  this  disability.  And  let  it  be  remembered  that 
Mr.  Morton  was  the  sole  influence  in  obtaining  such  a  desirable 
result. 

What  was  known  as  the  "pork  question"  was  also  caus- 
ing some  trouble  at  the  time  Mr.  Morton  went  to  Paris.  The 
French  ports,  as  well  as  other  ports,  were  closed  against  the 
American  hog.  This  was  due  to  a  great  European  "scare," 
caused  by  an  English  consul  in  Philadelphia.  He  had  heard 
through  some  source,  reliable  or  \mreliable,  that  some  family 
here  had  been  poisoned  by  trichinae  in  pork  they  had  eaten.  He 
paraded  the  event  before  his  own  government,  and  the  result 
was  that  the  principal  European  governments  prohibited  the 
importation  of  American  pork.  Thus  the  "frightened"  con- 
sul had  succeeded  in  cutting  ofl',  almost  entirely,  the  exporta- 
tion of  one  of  our  chief  staples. 

Mr.  Morton's  predecessor  had  tried,  by  all  means  in  his 
power,  to  have  this  restriction  taken  oft',  so  far  as  France  was 
concerned.  He  had  procured  expert  testimony  —  the  testimony 
of  scientists  well-known  in  France  —  to  show  that  the  Ameri- 
can hog  was  not  vmfit  for  food,  and  that  it  was  not  infested 
with  trichina?.  But  his  eftbrts  had  been  unavailing;  and  it 
was  nothing  against  General  Noyes  that  they  were,  as  will  be 
hereafter  shown.      But  it  was  much  in  favor  of  the  personal 


296  THE  LIFE  OF 

influence  of  Mr.  Morton  that  he  succeeded  in  doing  what 
General  Noyes  could  not  do.  The  decree  revoking  the  prohi- 
hition  of  American  pork  was  promulgated  by  the  French 
Ciovernment  in  18S3,  and  was  published  in  the  Jour fial  Officiel 
on  November  27th,  of  that  year. 

Nevertheless,  the  decree  did  not  immediately  become  a  law. 
It  was  temporarily  over-ruled  by  a  vote  of  the  legislature. 
This,  however,  but  shows  how  great  was  Mr.  Morton's  influ- 
ence with  the  government.  The  vote  of  the  legislature 
indicated  the  strong  popular  feeling  there  against  the  article  in 
(juestion.  Yet,  in  spite  of  this  feeling,  Mr.  Morton  was  able 
to  induce  the  government  to  issue  such  a  decree. 

Our  envoy  had  much  to  do  with  bringing  about  the  Mone- 
tary Conference  that  met  in  Paris  in  1S82,  fourteen  govern- 
ments being  represented  ;  and  he  took  an  active  part  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  conference.  He  also  bore  an  influential 
part  in  the  discyssions  that  finally  brought  about  the  treaty  be- 
tween the  powers  for  the  protection  of  the  submarine  cables  ; 
and  represented  the  United  States  in  the  convention  that  was 
signed  at  Paris,  March  14,  1884.  '^y  ^'""^  plenipotentiaries  of 
twenty-six  governments,  having  the  continued  protection  of 
the  submarine  cables  as  its  object.  On  March  20,  1883,  the 
conference  for  the  protection  of  patents  and  trade-marks  met  in 
Paris  ;  and  Mr.  Morton  assisted  greatly  in  the  deliberations  of 
that  body,  and  in  bringing  about  its  important  and  beneficial 
results.  Thus,  whether  it  was  to  influence  the  French  Gov- 
ernment to  recede  from  an  attitude  inimical  to  our  interests, 
or  to  explain  to  our  own  government  the  wisdom  of  better 
policy  toward   France,  or  to  bring  about  measures  of  impor- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  297 

tance  in  which  many  governments  were  interested,  or  to  give 
his  voice  for  harmonious  relations  of  the  United  vStates  with 
France,  or  for  the  interest  of  France  in  her  policy  toward  other 
nations  —  as  in  the  efficient  part  he  bore  in  the  negotiations  of 
peace  between  France  and  China  —  Mr.  Morton  was  always 
active  in  fulfilling  his  plenipotentiary  duties. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  difficult  tasks  which  Mr.  Morton 
had  to  perform  was  to  induce  our  own  government  to  assume 
a  different  attitude  toward  the  works  of  French  artists.  Had 
he  been  on  our  own  shores,  he  could  have  protested  more 
earnestly ;  but  being  a  representative  of  our  government,  it 
was  his  duty  not  to  disparage  but  to  exalt  his  own  country  and 
all  that  pertained  to  it,  if  he  could  possibly  do  so,  and  not  to 
criticise  us  before  strangers.  Again,  while  he  was  fully  in 
sympathy  with  the  principle  of  protection  enunciated  by  the 
Republican  party  at  home,  and  with  the  object  to  be  obtained 
by  that  protection  —  the  advancement  of  American  wages,  and 
the  improvement  of  American  handiwork  —  he  observed  that, 
in  cases  where  skill  might  be  acquired  abroad  to  our  own 
honor,  and  where  competition  of  foreign  workmanship  was 
more  in  skill  than  price,  and  therefore  beneficial,  the  very 
object  might  be  reached  by  removing  a  tariff'  that  protection 
reaches  in  most  cases. 

This  was  true  in  the  case  of  French  works  of  art.  Paris 
was  one  of  the  greatest  schools  of  art.  Americans  had  there 
an  equal  advantage  for  becoming  proficient  with  French  citi- 
zens. Their  works  were  admitted  to  exhibition  on  equal  foot- 
ing. Moreover,  the  removing  of  the  tariff  from  works  of  art 
would  allow   here    a    competition    in   prodtiction    and    merit. 


29S  THE  LIFE  OF 

rather  than  in  selling.  The  price  of  such  works,  at  least 
among  those  who  have  the  "  artist's  eye,"  depends  almost  al- 
together upon  merit,  and  is  not  affected  by  production,  espe- 
cially as  the  demand  must  ever  be  greater  than  the  supply.  It 
was  therefore  no  fawning  at  French  feet  that  led  Mr.  Morton 
to  endeavor  to  persuade  oiu"  government  to  remove  the  almost 
prohibitive  tariff  from  French  works  of  art.  It  was  an  act 
wholly  in  harmony  with  his  American  spirit,  and  had  in  view 
the  increased  excellence  of  American  production  and  price. 
His  efforts  in  this  direction  were  not  entirely  successful  ;  but 
he  did  succeed  in  winning  the  attention  and  approval  of  Presi- 
dent Arthur,  who  communicated  his  able  dispatch  to  Con- 
gress. 

In  this  connection,  he  was  also  instrumental  in  saving 
Ainerican  artists  from  a  French  reprisal  which,  in  view  of 
our  tariff  upon  their  works,  may  have  been  considered  just, 
though  it  would  have  wrought  some  harm  to^  us.  The 
French  press  and  artists  were  loudly  demanding  this  retaliation. 
But  Mr.  Morton  was  a  lover  of  art  and  a  friend  to  artists,  and 
by  liis  friendship  and  personal  relations  with  them,  and  with 
the  French  Ministry  prevented  them  from  carrying  out  their 
design  in  this  matter.  He  insisted  before  them,  as  before  our 
government,  that  art  can  recognize  no  language,  no  national 
boundaries ;  and  that  artists  speak  to  each  other  by  their 
works,  and  are  not  boinul  by  national  ties  or  prejudices  —  they 
are  a  community  by  themselves.  Nor  was  this  high  ground 
contrary  to  his  duty  in  representing  a  distinct  nation.  To 
make  the  members  of  his  nation,  and  those  of  the  nation  to 
which  he  was  accredited,  feel  a  common  sympathy  and  com- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  299 

mon  interests,  was  a  large  part  of  his  mission.     And  to   bind 
certain  classes  of  the  two  nations  into  one  class,  if  possible, 
was  a  step  toward  the  accomplishment  of  his  important  duties. 
Thus,  in  every  respect  our  envoy  to   France   sought  to    im- 
prove   the  relations   between    the    two  governments,   and    he 
made  no  endeavor  that  was  not  wholly,  or  in  part,  successful. 
While  making  no  display  of  his  wealth,  being  unostentatious 
and  unassuming,  as  he  had  always  been  in  his  native  country, 
he  yet  spared  no  pains  or  means  to  do  his  work  well.     He  gave 
two  receptions  every  year,  and  he  succeeded  by  these  in  draw- 
ing around  himself  such  men  as  became  a  great   advantage  to 
him  as  minister.     His   name    was   frequendy   in   the   French 
papers,  and  he  was  very  popular.     He  upheld  our  Republic  ; 
he  gave  us  such  a  dignity  and  prestige  before  the  French  Na- 
tion as  we  never  before  enjoyed.     In  1SS2,  he  was  president 
of  the  Monetary  Conference  that  sat  in   Paris.     He  was  well 
known  as  a  financier  long  before  he  went  to  Paris.     His  tran- 
sactions  had   been   in  London,  Frankfort,  Berlin,   and    Paris. 
He    was,  before  all  eyes,  a  man  of  Integrity  and  solidity    in 
money  matters ;   and  he  could  not.  with  any  show   of  justice, 
be  accused  of  making  a  display  of  his  wealth,  as  if  he  had  but 
yesterday  fallen  heir  to  it.     His  money  had  come  to  him  by  a 
long  course  of  training  and  experience  in   business    that  had 
formed  such  habits  as  precluded  the  possibility  of  mere  display. 
It  was  the  personal  popularity  of  the   man,  and  the  greatness 
of  his  character,  as  well  as  of  his  tact,  that  made  him  the  very 
efficient  minister  that  he  proved  himself. 

On  the  6th  of  September,  1883,  the  old  town  of  Le  Puy,  on 
the  upper  Loire,  unveiled  the  statue  of  Lafayette,  whose  name 


300  THE  LIFE  OF 

is  more  dear  to  the  American  heart  than  that  of  any  other 
Frenchman.  The  town  was  decorated  in  gayest  colors,  the 
stars  and  stripes  mingling  everywhere  with  the  tricolor. 
There  were  several  arches  of  triumph,  on  the  fa9ade  of  the 
principal  one  of  which,  were  two  inscriptions  —  one  that  wel- 
comed Waldeck-Rousseaii,  and  the  other  as  follows  : 

"AUX  ETATS-UNIS. 
'A  Levi  P.  Morton,  Ambassadeur." 

At  three  o'clock  the  ceremony  of  unveiling  took  place,  after 
which  came  the  speeches.  First,  there  were  two  local  officials 
who  spoke,  and  then  Mr.  Morton  delivered  the  following 
address  : 

"  Monsieur  le  Maire,  Messieurs:  I  accepted  as  a  privilege 
and  a  duty  the  invitation  with  which  I  was  honored  bv  the 
Department  of  the  Haute  Loire,  and  the  town  of  Le  Puy,  to 
be  present  on  this  occasion,  and  to  assist  in  the  ceremonies 
connected  with  the  inauguration  of  a  statue  of  General  Lafay- 
ette. I  claim  for  my  country,  to  whom  he  rendered  such  ines- 
timable services,  a  full  share  in  the  inheritance  of  his  fame, 
and  I  rejoice  as  its  representative  to  unite  on  this  occasion  with 
the  distinguished  members  of  the  government,  and  with  the 
descendants  and  countrymen  of  Lafayette,  in  this  tribute  to  his 
memor3^ 

"  lam  happ\'  to  express  to  vou  the  devoted  and  sympathetic 
interest  of  my  government,  and  the  grateful  affection  of  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States  for  the  illustrious  patriot  who, 
next  to  Washington,  of  all  the  heroes  of  the  Revolution, 
awakens  in  American  hearts  the  deepest  svmpath)'   and  grati- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  301 

tude.  And  what  is  it  that  has  won  for  him  the  honor,  grati- 
tude, and  affection  of  my  countrymen?  I  answer,  the  princi- 
ples whicli  directed  his  public  life,  the  invaluable  services 
whicli  he  rendered  mv  country  in  the  hour  of  her  greatest  trial. 
It  was  his  love  of  liberty  which  led  him,  a  youth  of  nineteen 
years,  to  embrace  the  cause  of  American  independence,  and 
inspired  him  to  say,  '  When  I  first  heard  the  news  of  the  strug- 
gle my  heart  leaped  to  your  cause  w'ith  enthusiastic  sympatliy.' 
And  what  is  it  that  gives  to  Lafayette  his  spotless  fame  ?  I 
answer,  his  unfaltering  devotion  to  constitutional  freedom  ; 
for  always  —  whether  in  the  days  of  the  Monarchy,  the  Em- 
pire, or  the  Republic  —  he  was  ever  the  consistent  advocate  of 
the  supremacy  of  the  law — ever  demanding  that  liberty  should 
be  defined  and  protected  by  chartered  rights.  His  love  of  lib- 
erty was  a  pai't  of  his  very  being  —  the  inspiration  of  his  life. 
"  This  life-like  statue  —  one  of  the  triumphs  of  art  —  around 
which  we  are  now  assembled,  will  recall  to  generations  yet 
unborn  the  great  services  which  he  rendered  to  the  cause  of 
constitutional  liberty.  More  than  a  century  has  passed  since 
Lafayette  enlisted  in  the  war  of  American  independence, 
devoting  to  it  his  fortune,  influence,  and  life.  Would  that  he 
could  this  day  rise  from  his  grave  and  look  upon  the  marvel- 
ous results  of  the  work  which  he  and  his  countrymen  took  so 
great  a  part  in  preparing.  Would  that  he  could  hear  the 
words  of  respect  and  gratitude  which  greet  his  memory  to-day. 
Would  that  he  could  look  out  and  see  that  the  two  countries 
which  he  loved  and  sei"ved  so  well  w^ere  never  more  closely  uni- 
ted in  sympathy  and  good  will  than  on  this  day,  when  the  citi- 
zens of  both  are  here  engaged  in  inaugurating  a  statue  to  perpet- 


303  THE  LIFE  OF 

uate  his  memory.  Only  a  few  weeks  have  passed  since  more 
than  ten  thousand  people  assembled  at  Burlington,  in  my  native 
state,  to  inaugurate  a  statue  of  Lafayette,  and  re-lay  the  corner- 
stone of  the  University  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  which  was 
originally  laid  by  the  illustrious  general  during  his  visit  to  the 
United  States  in  1825.  Among  those  present  were  the  gov- 
ernor of  the  state,  all  the  living  ex-governors,  the  president, 
faculty,  and  trustees  of  the  university,  battalions  of  United 
States  troops,  of  the  National  Guard  of  the  state,  and  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  We  have  assembled  to-day 
for  a  similar  purpose,  near  the  birthplace  of  Lafayette,  and  I 
esteem  it  a  great  privilege  to  stand  in  the  presence  of,  and  feel 
that  I  may  claim,  both  for  my  country  and  personally,  the 
friendship  of  the  grandson — your  distinguished  Senator  —  M. 
Edmond  de  Lafayette,  and  other  descendants  of  the  great  pat- 
riot and  soldier.  I  will  not  attempt  to  even  sketch  the  event- 
ful life  and  distinguished  services  Lafayette  rendered  to  his 
native  land,  or  to  the  nation  he  sacrificed  so  much  to  serve  ; 
they  form  an  important  part  of  the  history  of  France  and  of 
the  United  States  during  their  struggle  for  independence.  I 
may,  however,  repeat  the  prophetic  words  he  uttered  to  a  com- 
mittee of  the  American  Congress,  appointed  to  present  him, 
upon  his  return  to  France,  with  a  letter  addressed  to  the  King, 
expressive  of  their  high  appreciation  of  the  services  he  had 
rendered,  when  he  said  :  '  May  this  immense  Temple  of  Free- 
dom ever  stand,  a  lesson  to  oppressors,  an  example  to  the 
oppressed,  a  sanctuary  for  the  rights  of  mankind  !  and  may 
these  happy  United  States  attain  that  complete  splendor  and 
prosperity  which  will  illustrate  llie  ])lessings  of   their  govern- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  303 

ment,  and  for  ages  to  come  rejoice  the  departed  souls  of  its 
founders.' 

"  The  founders  of  this  Temple  of  Freedom  have  long  since 
seen  the  last  of  earth,  but  the  temple  they  raised  still  stands 
in  all  its  matchless  proportions,  a  beacon  light  to  the  oppressed, 
a  sanctuary  for  the  rights  of  mankind,  and  we  live  to  witness 
the  realization  of  his  prayer  and  prophetic  words. 

"  General  Lafayette  made  two  visits  to  the  United  States,  as 
the  guest  of  the  nation,  after  the  War  of  Independence, —  the 
first  time  during  the  life  of  Washington,  his  warm  personal 
friend  and  companion  in  victory  and  defeat,  and  again  in  1S34. 
His  reception  by  the  government  and  the  people  was  on  both 
occasions  a  continual  ovation  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  to 
that  of  his  departure.  His  name  is  a  household  word  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  will  be  for  all  time  imperisha- 
bly  associated  with  that  of  Washington,  the  grandest  character 
in  American  history.  May  the  friendship  formed,  on  the  field 
and  in  the  camp  between  Washington  and  Lafayette  —  typical 
representatives  of  the  grand  qualities  of  the  French  and  Amer- 
ican citizen-soldier  —  remain  unbroken  between  the  two  great 
republics  until  the  end  of  time." 

M.  Waldeck-Rousseau  followed  with  a  speech,  of  which  the 
following  were  the  important  paragraphs  : 

•'The  Minister  of  the  United  States  has  just  expressed  for 
France  sentiments  of  cordiality  and  friendship,  which  cannot 
go  unanswered.  I  feel  bound  to  thank  him  warmly  for  such 
sentiments,  and  to  tell  him,  in  the  name  of  all  republicans  of 
this  department  here   piesent,  how   happy  we  are,  how  much 


304  THE  LIFE  OF 

we  are  affected  to  see  by  the  side  of  us,  united  in  a  like  senti- 
ment of  veneration  for  that  man  of  whom  Senator  Vissaguet 
has  just  spoken  so  eloquently,  the  accredited  representative  of 
that  other  great  democracy,  which  is  the  American  democracy, 
of  that  other  great  republic,  which  is  the  Republic  of  the 
United  States,  laborious  as  ours,  pacific  as  ours,  and  convinced 
as  we  are  that  free  people  cannot  buy  that  inestimable  boon  of 
peace  except  upon  the  double  condition  —  to  be  firmly  re- 
solved never  to  undertake  anything  against  others,  but  also 
never  to  permit  others  to  undertake  anything  against  them. 

"  The  democracy  of  America  is  the  true  republicanism,  and 
and  we  should  esteem  it  a  happy  da}'  for  France  when  we 
arrive  —  as  we  believe  we  are  now  in  the  way  of  arriving  —  at 
the  perfection  of  a  republic  such  as  Washington  founded,  with 
the  aid  of  our  own  Lafayette.  We  seek  no  aggrandisement 
not  founded  upon  the  true  development  and  just  protection  of 
our  commercial  interests,  and  these  we  hope  to  be  always  pre- 
pared to  defend." 

Mr.  Morton  afterwards,  on  September  12th,  sent  the  follow- 
ing dispatch  to  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Washington  : 

With  true  appreciation  of  what  is  due  to  America  in  the  fame  of  La- 
fayette, the  French  authorities  and  the  family  of  Lafayette  expressed  an 
earnest  desire  that  the  representative  of  the  United  States  should  be  as- 
sociated with  the  public  tribute  to  his  memory.  In  response  to  a  most 
flattering  invitation  from  the  prefect  of  the  department,  the  mayor  of 
Le  Puy,  and  Senator  Edmond  de  Lafayette,  the  only  one  now  bearing 
that  illustrious  name,  I  esteemed  it  a  duty  as  well  as  a  pleasure  to  at- 
tend the  ceremonies  connected  with  the  unveilng  of  the  statue,  which 
were  performed  with  fitting  solemnity  in  presence  of  high  functionaries 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  305 

of  the  French  Government,  of  living  representatives  of  the  family  of 
Lafayette,  and  of  a  large  concourse  of  people,  including  quite  a  num- 
ber of  distinguished  Americans. 

I  venture  to  send  herewith  extracts  from  newspapers  .  .  .  giving 
a  full  account  of  the  speeches  made  at  Le  Puy,  and  of  interesting  inci- 
dents of  the  day. 

You  will  notice  with  gratification,  I  am  sure,  that  the  whole  pro- 
ceedings evinced  in  the  most  flattering  manner  the  existence  of  a 
strong  and  true  feeling  of  good-will  and  amity  between  France  and  the 
United  States.  The  French  speakers  were  particularly  Emphatic  in  their 
expression  of  friendship  for  our  country  and  government,  and  of  admir- 
ation for  our  institutions.  These  sentiments  were  expressed  not  only 
by  those  who  took  part  in  the  Le  Puy  proceedings  :  the  unveiling  of 
the  statue  was  the  occasion  of  a  general  expression  of  the  warmest  feel- 
ing of  friendship  for  our  government  and  people.  Papers  of  all  grades 
and  political  opinions  have  united  in  bestowing  upon  our  country  and 
political  system  the  most  flattering  eulogies,  and  in  rejoicing  over  the 
faithful  and  happy  relations  which  have  so  long  existed  between  the 
two  nations. 

I  am  satisfied  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  masses,  as  well  as 
in  the  belief  of  the  government,  the  United  States  is  looked  upon  as 
the  best  and  most  reliable  friend  of  France,  the  only  one  from  whom 
she  has  nothing  to  fear,  and  perhaps  also  the  only  one  in  whose  foot- 
steps she  is  inclined  to  follow. 

I  have,  etc., 

Levi  P.  Morton. 

To  which  the  Secretary  of  State  made  reply  as  follows  : 

Department  of  State,  ~i 

Washington,  October  i,  1883.  J 

Sir, —  Your  dispatch  No.  403,  of  the  12th  instant,  giving  an   account 
of  the  ceremonies  which  were  observed  on  the  occasion  of  the  unveil- 


3o6  THE  LIFE  OF 

ing  of  the  statue  of  Lafayette   at  Le   Puy,  on    the  6th   of  the   present 
month,  has  been  read  with  great  interest. 

Your  action  in  accepting  the  invitation  to  be  present  at  tlic  ceremo- 
nies as  the  representative  of  this  country  is  heartily  approved  by  the 
President,  and  he  is  gratified  to  learn  that  the  event  called  forth  so 
many  warm  expressions  of  the  good-will  of  the  people  of  France  to- 
wards the  government  and  citizens  of  the  United  States. 
I  am,  etc., 

Fkedk.  T.  Frelinghuysen. 

On  the  stli  of  July,  1SS4,  a  large  number  of  French  and 
Americans  assembled  at  No.  35  Rue  de  Chazelles,  to  witness 
tlie  presentation  of  Bartholdi's  statue  of  "  Liberty  Enlighten- 
ing the  World"  to  the  American  representative,  and  the  recep- 
tion, on  behalf  of  the  United  States,  by  Mr.  Morton. 

The  following  is  the  presentation  speech  by  Count  de 
Lcsseps,  President  of  the  Union  Franco-Americaine  : 

"France  —  monarchial,  imperial,  or  republican  —  has 
been  always  the  friend  and  ally  of  the  United  States. 
Our  work  to-day  is  not  political  ;  it  is  the  work  of  a  hundred 
thousand  subscribers;  iSo  towns  have  participated  in  it;  a 
large  number  of  general  councils,  of  boards  of  trade,  and  of 
various  industrial  societies.  The  thought  which  has  inspired 
France  upon  such  an  occasion  has  been  that  of  consecrating 
and  cementing  the  friendship  between  the  two  countries  that 
the  vast  ocean  which  rolls  l)etween  cannot  separate,  because 
there  exists  between  the  two  countries  so  strong  a  sympathy 
that  when  difficidties  arise  they  are  soon  dissipated,  so  close 
is  the  sentiment  between  them. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  307 

"This  is  the  result  of  the  devotetl  enthusiasm,  the  intelHgence, 
and  the  noblest  sentiments  which  can  inspire  man.  It  is  great 
in  its  conception,  great  in  its  execution,  great  in  its  propor- 
tions. Let  us  hope  that  it  will  add,  by  its  moral  value,  to  the 
memories  and  sympathies  that  it  is  intended  to  perpetuate. 
We  now  transfer  to  you,  Mr.  Minister,  this  great  statue,  and 
trust  that  it  may  forever  stand  the  pledge  of  friendship 
between  France  and  the  great  Republic  of  the  United  States.' 

After  this  speech,  and  the  playing  of  the  "•  Star  Spangled 
Banner,"  Mr.  Morton  responded  as  follows  : 

"  Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee  :  I  am 
directed  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  accept  this 
colossal  statue  of  '  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,'  and  to 
express  the  thanks  of  the  government  and  people  of  the  United 
States  for  the  statue,  as  a  work  of  art  and  as  a  monument  of 
the  abiding  friendship  of  the  people  of  France,  and  to  assure 
the  Committee  of  the  Franco-American  Union,  the  President 
of  the  Council,  and  the  citizens  of  the  French  Republic,  that 
the  American  people  return  most  heartily  the  friendly  senti- 
ments which  prompted  this  noble  gift  to  America. 

"It  is  proper  that  I  should  recall  on  this  occasion  the  action 
of  the  government  of  the  United  States  with  regard  to  the 
statue  of  Libert}',  the  completion  of  which  we  witness  to-day. 

"  When  the  American  Congress  was  advised  that  the  citi- 
zens of  France  proposed  to  erect  on  one  of  the  islands  in  the 
harbor  of  New  York,  the  colossal  statue  of  '  Liberty  Enlight- 
ening the  World,'  it  authorized,  by  a  unanimous  vote,  the  Presi- 
dent to  accept  the  gift,  and  to  set  apart  a  suitable  site  for  its 
erection. 


3oS  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  The  Preslclcut  was  also  diiccted  to  cause  the  statue  to  he 
inaugurated,  when  completed,  with  such  ceremonies  as  would 
serve  to  testify  to  the  gratitude  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  for  the  monument  so  felicitously  expressive  of  the  sym- 
pathy of  her  sister  Repuhlic. 

"  The  American  Congress  also  ordered  provision  to  be 
made  for  its  future  maintenance  as  a  beacon,  and  for  its  preser- 
vation and  permanent  care  as  a  monument  of  art,  and  of  the 
continued  good  will  of  the  great  nation  which  aided  her  in 
her  struggle  for  freedom. 

"The  President  of  the  United  States  set  apart  Bedloes 
Island  for  the  erection  of  the  statue,  and  I  have  received  a  tele- 
gram from  Messrs.  Evarts  and  Spaulding,  of  the  New  York 
Committees,  stating  that  the  concrete  base,  fifty-two  feet  high, 
been  completed,  and  the  laying  of  the  granite  for  the  pedestal 
commenced. 

"  The  thought  which  inspired  M.  Bartholdi,  the  eminent 
author  of  this  triumph  of  art ;  the  participation  in  this  gift  of 
vSenators  Oscar  and  Edmond  de  Lafayette,  the  Marquis  de 
Rochambeau,  and  other  descendants  of  the  sons  of  France 
who  fought  by  the  side  of  Washington  ;  the  [participation  also 
of  M.  de  Lesseps,  the  illustrious  President  of  the  Franco- 
American  Union,  of  his  distinguished  predecessor,  Senator 
Laboulaye,  the  French  interpreter  of  the  American  Constitu- 
tion ;  of  Senator  Henri  Martin,  the  great  historian,  and  their 
distinguished  associates  ;  the  presence  on  this  occasion  of  sev- 
eral members  of  the  government,  and  the  representative  of 
the  President  of  this  great  Republic  ;  tlie  proposal  of  the 
French  Government,  through  the  Minister  of  Marine,  to  trans- 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  309 

port  this  statue  to  New  York  in  a  government  frigate,  and  the 
selection  of  the  anniversary  day  of  American  Independence 
for  this  ceremony,  will  all  only  deepen  the  grateful  apprecia- 
tion with  which  your  friendly  gift  will  be  received  by  the  gov- 
ernment and  people  of  the  United  States. 

"  It  was  my  good  fortune,  as  the  representative  of  my 
country,  to  drive  the  first  rivet  in  this  great  statue,  as  it  is  now 
to  accept  it  complete  in  all  its  grand  proportions,  on  behalf  of 
the  President  and  people  of  the  United  States. 

""  The  Committee  of  the  Franco-American  Union,  of  New 
York,  which  was  organized  to  provide  the  foundations  for  the 
statue,  will  receive  it,  on  its  arrival,  with  the  same  feelings  of 
gratitude  and  emotion  which  your  friendly  action  has  evoked 
in  the  heart  of  every  American,  and  assume  the  agreeable  task 
of  its  erection  upon  the  pedestal  on  Bedloes  Island. 

"  God  grant  that  it  may  stand  until  the  end  of  time,  as  an 
emblem  of  imperishable  sympathy  and  affection  between  the 
Republics  of  France  and  the  United  States." 


JAMHS  ABRAM  GARFIELD, 

THE  FOURTH  REPUBLICAN  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 


Chapter  VI. 


BRILLIANT  CLOSING  OF  MINISTRY  TO  FRANCE. 

ELECTION  OF    1S84 MR.    MORTON    PREPARES    TO    RESIGN INAUGURA- 
TION     OF     ORIGINAL      MODEL      OF     "LIBERTY     ENLIGHTENING     THE 

WORLD  "  AN      EARLY     BANqUET  SCENE      ON     THE      PLACE     DES 

ETATS-UNIS —  PRESENTATION  SPEECH  BY  MR.  MORTON  RECEP- 
TION    BY    M.     BRISSON — SPEECHES    BY    M.      BOUE ,     M.    DE    LESSEPS, 

AND      SENATOR     LAFAYETTE INVITATION    TO     A     FAREWELL    BAN- 

CyjET  THE      TOASTS  TESTIMONIES      OF      APPRECIATION       FROM 

FRENCH  AND  AMERICANS  A  RESPONSE  BY  MR.  MORTON  RE- 
PORTS FROM  PARIS  AND  LONDON  PAPERS  A  PERSONAL  TESTI- 
MONY   BY     PRESIDENT     GREVY. 

After  the  presidential  election  of  1SS4,  Mr.  Morton  pre- 
pared to  resign  his  connnission  in  favor  of  whomever  might  be 
appointed  by  the  Democratic  administration.  That  choice 
was  the  Honorable  Robert  M.  McLane,  of  Maryland,  ex-gov- 
ernor of  that  State,  who  had  also  served  the  government  in 
various  other  capacities. 

But  before  closing  the  record  of  Mr.  Morton's  career  in 
France,  it  will  be  due  to  him,  as  well  as  a  pleasing  task,  to 
recount  in  some  detail  two  important  events  which  occurred 
near  the  close  of  his  residence  there,  and  which  reflect 
much  honor  upon  his  whole  course  during  the  four  years  of 
his  ministry. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1S85,  occurred  at  Paris  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  original  model  of  "  Liberty  Enlightening  the 
World."     A  committee  of  Americans  had  caused  it  to  be  cast 


312  THE  LIFE  OF 

in  l^ronze,  and  this  was  the  day  it  was  to  be  presented  to 
France.  It  was  not  so  large  as  the  colossal  statue  then  already 
on  its  way  to  New  York  Harbor,  but  it  was  considered  the 
largest  monumental  figure  in  Paris.  It  was  erected  on  the 
Place  des  Etats-Unis,  just  before  the  palatial  official  residence 
of  the  Minister  of  the  United  States. 

On  that  morning,  at  Mr.  Morton's  invitation,  the  principal 
participants  in  the  ceremony  partook  of  such  a  breakfast  as 
he  had  been  noted  for  giving.  There  were  present  senators, 
deputies,  artists,  diplomatists,  and  journalists.  President  Grevy 
was  represented  by  General  Pittie.  Others  were  M.  Floquet, 
President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  M.  Boue,  President  of 
the  Municipal  Council,  M.  de  Lesseps,  and  M.  Edmond  de 
Lafayette,  grandson  of  the  great  general  of  American  fame. 
After  breakfast,  the  company  was  joined  by  M.  Henri  Brisson, 
President  of  the  Council  of  Ministers,  who  had  been  detained 
away  until  then.  There  were  also  present,  at  the  lireakfast 
and  afterwards,  many  other  eminent  Frenchmen,  as  well  as 
many  noted  Americans.  In  fact,  the  great  drawing-room  was 
tilled  with  important  personages.  The  spirit  of  the  occasion 
was  well  indicated  by  Mme.  Adam,  the  rcnowed  editress  of 
the  NouveUe  Revue^  who  was  present :  "I  put  oft'  my  depart- 
ure for  the  country  until  to-morrow,  in  order  to  participate  in 
this  international  fraternization.  I  always  wish  to  do  what 
little  I  can  to  keep  alive  the  old  friendship  which  has  united 
the  two  great  republics  for  more  than  a  century." 

In  harmony  with  this  spirit  the  procession  marched  out  of 
the  drawing-room  and  on  to  the  spacious  park,  to  the  strains 
of  the  "Star  Spangled  Banner"  and  "•  Marse/'l/aise.''     There 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  313 

had  gathered  such  a  gay  throng  as  Paris  can  furnish.  French 
and  American  flags  were  fluttering  everywhere,  "  while  the 
light  spring  tints  of  the  trees  that  bordered  the  square,  and  a 
soft  May  sun-light  spreading  over  all,  contrasted  strongly  with 
the  dusky  form  of  the  towering  statue." 

Mr.  Morton  was  to  make  the  presentation  speech ,  and  when 
he  rose  before  the  vast  assembly  for  the  purpose,  he  was 
greeted  with  enthusiastic  applause,  which  was  repeated  again 
and  again  as  he  p-oceeded.     He  spoke  as  follows  : 

"  JMonsictn-  le  President  du  Conseil,  Monsieur  le  Presi- 
dent de  la  Cha7nbre  des  Deputes^  Alonsieztr  le  President 
du    Conseil  Municipal : 

"  Gentlemen,  Upon  the  eve  of  my  departure,  I  have  one 
more  mission  to  discharge,  and  that  a  very  agreeable  one.  1 
desire  to  express  to  you  the  feelings  entertained  by  my  country- 
men on  this  occasion.  In  a  few  days  the  colossal  statue  of 
'  Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,'  the  generous  gift  of  the 
French  Nation  to  the  United  States,  will  leave  the  port  of 
Rouen,  on  board  the  French  Frigate  Jsere^  and  ere  long  it  will 
be  erected  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  of  New  York,  where 
it  will  stand  forever  in  memory  of  the  friendship  which  unites 
the  two  great  sister  Republics. 

"An  American  committee  in  Paris  has  collected  a  fund  for 
the  casting  in  bronze  of  the  model  of  this  celebrated  statue. 
It  is  eminently  proper  that  this,  the  original  work  as  it  came 
from  the  hands  of  your  distinguished  artist,  M.  Bartholdi, 
should  be  preserved  in  imperishable  form  in  the  generous 
country  which  conceived  the  noble  thought  of  a  monument  to 
commemorate  the  old  Franco-American  alliance. 


314  THE  LIFE  OF 

"  This  bronze  statue,  oftcred  to  you  by  my  compatriots,  will 
remain  a  lasting  souvenir  of  gratitude  to  France.  It  is  fitting 
that  it  should  be  erected  where  the  heart-beating  of  this  great 
nation  is  felt  so  forcibly,  and  in  a  square  to  which  you  have  so 
courteously  given  the  name  of  my  country. 

"  The  city  of  Paris  has  most  kindly  seconded  all  eflbrts  of 
the  committee,  and  has  graciously  undertaken  the  erection  of 
the  monument.  We  tender  the  city  authorities  our  most 
hearty  thanks. 

"  In  the  name  of  my  compatriots  and  the  committee,  I  beg 
you  to  accept,  for  the  French  Nation,  this  token  of  our 
sympathy  and  friendship  —  sentiments  which  God  grant  may 
unite  the  two  countries  for  centuries  to  come. 

"  In  your  persons,  Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the 
Municipal  Council  of  Paris,  to  whom  we  confide  this  gift,  we 
salute  the  great  capital  which  we  admire  and  love,  and  to 
whose  manners  and  usages  we  have  become  as  accustomed  as 
your  own  countrymen. 

"May  this  statue  of  Liberty  tend  to  perpetuate  a  friendship 
which  the  changing  events  of  a  liundrcd  years  have  only 
served  to  strengthen. 

"  I  desire,  gentlemen,  before  closing,  to  avail  myself  of 
this  occasion  to  express  to  the  municipal  authorities  of  Paris 
my  high  appreciation  of  the  compliment  whicli  has  been  paid 
my  country  during  my  term  of  office,  in  giving  to  this  square, 
in  1881,  when  the  United  States  Legation  w-as  located  here, 
the  name  of  Place  des  iStats-Unis." 

For  this  hapjn'  speecli  Mr.  Morton  immediately  received  the 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  315 

warmest  congratulations  from  the  president  of  the  council  and 
other  French  officials,  while  the  people  applauded,  as  the 
French  can  when  they  are  pleased.  It  would  be  unjust  to 
refuse  to  make  public,  by  giving  M.  Brisson's  response,  the 
esteem  in  which  Mr.  Morton  was  held  by  the  highest  of  those 
officials,  and  by  the  French  people,  as  well  as  the  friendship 
he  had,  in  fiict,  re-awakened  and  intensified  in  tlieni  for  our 
country. 

Said  the  president  of  the  council  : 

"Gentlemen:  I  congratulate  myself  most  heartily  that 
circumstances  have  designated  me  to  receive,  in  the  name  of 
the  French  Republic,  both  this  magnificent  gift  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  and  especially  the  expression  of  friendly  sentiments 
for  our  country,  which  you  have  just  heard  so  eloquently 
expressed  by  Mr.  Morton. 

"  Receive  in  return.  Monsieur  le  Ministi-e,  our  thanks,  both 
for  yourself  and  the  Americans  for  whom  you  have  spoken. 
The  history  of  our  friendship  is  of  long  date.  Before  the 
exchange  of  these  two  monuments,  one  of  w'hich  is  to  remain 
here,  and  the  other  so  shortly  to  be  transported  to  your  shores, 
tokens  of  friendship  between  the  two  great  Republics  were  not 
wanting,  either  upon  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  or  the  other.  If 
our  streets  and  public  squares  have  American  names,  with  you 
whole  cities  bear  French  names,  not,  as  happens  too  frequently, 
in  order  to  perpetuate  the  souvenir  of  bloody  triumphs  of  one 
people  over  another,  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  an  evidence  of 
our  seculai"  friendship.  Our  friendship  is  like  the  'Liberty' 
created   by   the  genius   of  M.    Bartholdi  —  it   enlightens    the 


3i6  THE  LIFE  OF 

world,  but  does  not  menace  it.  You  celebrated  not  long  ago 
your  centenary  ;  we  are  shortly  to  celebrate  ours.  May  this 
ceremony  of  to-day  serve  as  a  bond  of  union  between  these 
two  great  jubilees. 

"  Who  would  be  able  to  say  to-day  which  of  the  two  nations 
manifested  itself  to  the  world  by  this  declaration  ?  '  We  hold 
these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are  created  equal ; 
that  they  are  endowed  b}-  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable 
rights  ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness  ;  that  to  secure  these  rights,  governments  are  insti- 
tuted among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent 
of  tlie  governed.' 

"  It  was  your  ancestors,  gentlemen,  who  in  1776  gave  utter- 
ance to  these  words,  so  humane  and  yet  so  bold.  Happier 
than  ourselves,  established  in  a  new  land,  surrounded  with 
fewer  enemies,  it  has  perhaps  cost  vou  less  trouble  to  realize 
the  promises  contained  in  these  words.  The  only  tragedy  that 
has  marked  your  history  during  a  hundred  years  demonstrated, 
moreover,  what  a  grand  teacher  liberty  is  in  everything. 
Obliged  to  make  and  improvise  war,  you  gave  evidence  of 
incomparable  energy  and  resources.  You  conducted  it  upon 
a  scale  that  surprised  us.  A  single  episode  of  this  gigantic 
struggle — the  campaign  of  Sherman  —  recalls,  by  its  calcu- 
lated temerity,  the  expedition  of  Hannibal.  Ah  !  you  have 
shown,  gentlemen,  what  vou  are  capable  of  doing;  you  can 
henceforth  and  forever  return  to  vvorks  of  peace. 

"Peace,  liberty,  justice,  friendship  between  nations  —  that  is 
the  work  that  we  shoidd,  hand  in  hand,  endeavor  to  accom- 
plish. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  317 

"  Why  should  there  not  be,  Mr.  Morton,  associated  with  this 
fete^  a  sentiment  of  personal  regret,  which  you  will  allow  me 
to  express?  Guests,  respected,  appreciated,  and  loved  by 
Parisian  society,  are  about  to  leave  us.  And  yet,  welcome  to 
the  new  envoy  of  the  great  American  Republic.  Let  us  hope, 
however,  that  Paris  will  exercise  on  you,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mor- 
ton, its  customary  charm.  It  was  said  in  antiquity,  and  is  still 
said — you  have  heard  it  many  times,  M.  de  Lesseps  —  that 
whoever  once  tastes  the  water  of  the  Nile  wishes  to  drink  it 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  Paris  flatters  herself  that  she  is  capa- 
ble of  the  same  seduction — that  she  can  inspire  the  same  nos- 
talgia. Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morton,  Parisian  society  will  not,  I  am 
sure,  lose  you  forever." 

Responses  were  also  made  by  M.  Boue,  M.  de  Lesseps,  and 
Senator  Lafayette.  The  neat  impromptu  by  M.  de  Lesseps 
deserves  a  place  here  : 

"As  President  of  the  Franco-American  Committee,  which 
has  presented  to  the  United  States  the  Colossal  Statue  of  Lib- 
erty, I  thank  Minister  Morton  and  the  American  Committee 
for  this  beautiful  gift  to  France  and  the  city  of  Paris.  This 
exchange  of  tokens  of  friendship  is  a  fresh  bond  uniting  the 
two  grand  Republics,  and  I  am  happy  to  state  the  fact  in  the 
presence  of  the  noble  heirs  of  the  glorious  names  of  Lafayette 
and  Rochambeau." 

During  all  this  time,  Mrs.  Morton  sat,  with  two  or  three  of 
her  daughters,  on  a  seat  near  the  front.  After  the  speaking, 
she  was  approached  first  by  M.  Brisson,  who  assured  her  of  his 
best  wishes  for  her  safe  return  to  America,  and  then  by  a  great 


3i8  THE  LIFE  OF 

number  of  the  most  eminent  Frenchmen,  who  expressed  them- 
selves likewise.  She  was  always  ready  to  reply  in  neat  and 
pointed  phrases,  expressing  her  regard  for  the  French  people 
and  nation,  and  her  gratitude  for  the  great  kindness  that  had 
been  shown  her. 

The  other  event  is  explained  by  the  following  letter: 

Paris,  April  23,  1SS5. 
The    Honorable  L.  P.    Moitoti,  Envoy  Extraordinary  and    Minis- 
_  tcr  Plenifiolcntiary  of  the  United  Htaies  in  France. 

Dear  Sir:  We  learn,  with  deep  regret,  that  you  are  about  to  leave 
Paris.  It  is  our  wish,  on  the  eve  of  jour  departure,  to  publicly  express 
to  you  our  appreciation  of  the  invaluable  services  you  have  rendered 
to  Americans  in  France. 

During  the  four  years  that  you  have  represented  the  United  States  in 
this  capital,  you  have  strengthened  the  bonds  that  unite  the  two  Re- 
publics, and  you  have  secured  for  our  citizens  in  France  advantages 
which  they  did  not  previously  possess.  Your  home  has  been  the  cen- 
tre of  a  most  generous  hospitality;  to  every  work  of  charity  you  have 
been  a  devoted  friend  and  supporter;  you  have  extended  to  every  citi- 
zen of  our  country,  however  humble,  assistance  and  protection  when- 
ever needed,  and  in  the  long  list  of  distinguished  men  who  have  filled 
the  eminent  position  of  American  Minister  in  France,  we  feel  there  is 
not  one  who  has  been  more  faithful  and  devoted  in  maintaining  na- 
tional interests. 

In  recalling  the  honorable  record  of  your  services,  we  are  united  in  a 
sentiment  of  cordial  respect  and  gratitude  for  the  past,  and  of  earnest 
good  wishes  for  the  future.  We  beg,  therefore,  to  invite  you  to  a  din- 
ner, at  such  a  time  as  may  be  most  convenient  to  you,  which  will  give 
us  an  opportunity  of  bidding  you  God  speed,  and  of  thanking  you  in 
person  for  the  many  kindnesses  and  services  of  which  we  have  been  the 
recipients  during  your  term  of  office. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  319 

We  beg  to  express  to  Mrs.  Morton,  through  you,  our  cordial  thanks 
for  the  most  gracious  welcome  she  has  also  extended  to  us,  and  our  sin- 
cere appreciation  of  the  qualities  which  have  made  her,  in  her  sphere, 
what  jou  have  been  in  j^ours. 

We  are,  dear  sir. 

Very  faithfully  ^'oin^s,  etc. 

This  letter  was  beautifully  engrossed  on  parchment,  and 
signed  by  sixty  American  gentlemen  in  Paris.  Mr.  Morton 
replied  the  next  day,  and  after  expressing  his  pleasure  at  the 
invitation,  and  the  pleasure  of  Mrs.  Morton,  he  said  : 

As  the  new  American  minister  to  France  is  expected  to  sail  from 
New  York  on  the  29th  inst. ,  it  will  be  most  agreeable  to  me,  as  I  doubt 
not  that  it  will  be  to  you,  to  fix  a  date  subsequent  to  his  arrival.  I 
therefore  beg  to  suggest  May  14th,  when  I  shall  be  pleased  to  avail 
myself  of  your  courteous  invitation,  and  shall  hope  also  to  have  the 
pleasure  of  presenting  my  successor,  my  late  colleague  in  Congress 
and  personal  friend,  the  Hon.  Robert  M.  McLane. 

The  farewell  banquet  was  held  at  the  Hotel  Continental, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  social  events  of  the  season. 
Not  only  Americans,  but  many  of  the  most  eminent  French- 
men were  present.  Mr.  Morton's  successor  was  also  there, 
and  the  friendship  shown  to  exist  between  the  two  was  one  of 
the  most  pleasant  features  of  the  evening.  In  all  there  were 
about  two  hundred  gentlemen  present,  of  the  most  distin- 
guished Frenchmen  and  Americans,  and  others. 

The  arrangements  for  the  banquet  were  most  complete. 
Every  expression  of  taste  and  art  was  brought  into  requisi- 
tion to   show  the  esteem  in  which   the   honored  g^viest    of   the 


320  THE  LIFE  OF 

evening  was  held.  The  halls  were  ornamented  with  plants, 
and  the  band  of  the  Garde  Republicaine^  imder  the  leader- 
ship of  M.  (justave  Wettge,  furnished  the  best  and  most  artistic 
music  for  the  occasion.  The  menu  was  printed  in  Old  En- 
glish text,  and  announced  the  choicest  that  France  might  aflbrd. 

Mr.  John  Munroe  was  chairman  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, and  presided  at  the  banquet  table.  He  had  Mr.  Mor- 
ton and  ]Mr.  AIcLane  on  his  right. 

"  We  have  gathered  together  this  evening,"  said  Mr.  Mun- 
roe, rising,  "  to  do  honor  and  to  bid  farewell  to  one  who,  dur- 
ing the  past  four  years,  has  been  a  friend  to  all  of  us.  The 
presence  in  oiu"  midst  of  so  many  distinguished  memliers  of 
the  French  Government,  and  others  prominent  in  the  spheres 
of  art  and  science,  is  a  brilliant  testimony  to  the  respect  and 
atlection  in  which  Mr.  Morton  is  held  by  all.  Many  other 
representative  men  would  ha\e  been  witli  us,  to  add  still  fiu'- 
ther  lustre  to  the  gathering,  had  it  l)een  possible  for  them  to  do 
so  ;  and  I  shall,  with  your  permission,  read  a  few  of  the  let- 
ters, expressing  the  high  appreciation  in  which  Mr.  Morton  is 
held  by  tliose  to  whose  government  he  has  been  accredited." 

He  then  read  letters  from  M.  Jules  Ferry,  M.  tie  Freycinet, 
M.  Henri  Brisson,  General  Pittie,  and  others. 

The  toasts  of  the  evening,  some  of  which  had  now  already 
Ijeen  given,  were  as  follows  : 

1.  The  President  of  the  F'rench  Republic.  Music:  "  Tlie  French 
National  Air." 

2.  The  President  of  the  United  States.  Music:  "  The  American 
National  Air." 

3.  The  Guest  of  the  evening,  the  Hon.  L.  P.  Morton.  Remarks  by 
Mr.  John  Munroe. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  321 

4.  American  Diplomacy.  Remarl<s  by  Mr.  Edmund  Kelly.  Reply 
by  Mr.  Morton.     Music. 

5.  The  Two  Great  Sister  Republics.  Remarks  by  M.  Floquet. 
Music. 

6.  The  Hereditary  Friendship  of  France  and  the  United  States. 
Remarks  by  the  Hon.  Robert  M.  McLane,  Minister  of  the  United 
States.  • 

7.  The  Development  of  Popular  Education  the  True  Basis  of  Na- 
tional Greatness.  Remarks  by  M.  Rene  Goblet,  Minister  of  Public 
Instruction.     Music. 

8.  The  Commercial  Relations  between  France  and  the  United 
States.     Remarks  by  Consul-General  Walker. 

9.  The  Modern  International  Peacemaker — Arbitration.  Remarks 
by  General  Keys,  of  the  United  States  Army.     Music. 

10.  Two  glorious  names  always  uppermost  in  the  heart  of  every 
patriotic  American  —  Washington  and  Lafayette.  Remarks  by  the 
Marquis  Edmund  de  Lafayette,  and  the  Marquis  de  Rochambeau. 
Music. 

It  only  remains  to  give  briefly  a  few  sketches,  taken  almost 
at  random,  from  the  many  good  things  that  were  said  on  that 
.brilliant  evening. 

Senator  Lafayette,  speaking  of  Mr.  Morton,  said  :  "  During 
his  mission  in  France,  your  worthy  representative  has  shown 
himself  to  be  the  friend  of  our  country,  and  he  has  known 
how  to  become  acquainted  with,  to  appreciate  and  admire  our 
most  emineitir  public  men.  .  .  .  As  for  myself,  I  can 
never  forget  the  marks  of  affection  which  Mr.  Morton  and  his 
fellow-countrymen  have  always  shown  for  the  memory  of 
Lafayette,  the  companion  in  arms  and  the  friend  of  Washing- 
ton ;  and  we  delight  in  the  recollections  of  the  old  union 
between  the  two  nations,  and  the  glorious  day  of  Yorktown, 
21 


332  THE  LIFE  OF 

with  which  event  the  name  of  Rochambeau  is  also  associ- 
ated." 

The  Marquis  de  Rochambeau  spoke  as  follows:  "  In  less 
than  four  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morton  have  won  the  a})prol)a- 
tion  of  everybody,  and,  I  may  say  it  without  any  fear  of  con- 
tradiction, none  better  than  they  have  known  how  to  keep 
alive  the  old  friendship  which  unites  France  and  America." 

Said  Mr.  McLane  :  "  I  have  accepted  with  great  pleasure 
the  invitation  of  your  committee  to  unite  with  you  in  this  ban- 
quet in  honor  of  my  predecessor.  .  .  .  Honest  and  effi- 
cient administration  is  consistent  with  party  government,  and, 
therefore,  men  of  all  parties  can  unite  in  rendering  homage  to 
faithful  and  capable  public  servants.  It  is  in  this  spirit  that 
we  can  all  unite  in  coixlial  and  generous  courtesy  to  our  guest, 
recognizing  the  fidelity  and  ability  with  which  he  has  repre- 
sented our  country'  in  France." 

M.  Floquet,  President  of  the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  closed 
his  remarks  with  the  following:  "Be  pleased  to  convey  to 
Mrs.  Morton  our  respectful  homage.  Her  exquisite  qualities 
rendered  her  worthy  to  be  at  the  head  of  that  brilliant  Ameri- 
can colony,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  most  graceful  orna- 
ments of  our  Parisian  society.  Her  charms  of  manner  and 
mind  blended  well  with  the  courteous  gravity  of  your  temper 
and  hal)its,  and  have  made  your  house  one  of  those  in  which 
hospitality  was  of  the  most  amiable  kind  and  eagerly  sought 
after.  Be  sure  that  among  us  neither  of  you  will  be  forgotten  ; 
and,  when  you  are  far  away,  preserve  a  little  remembrance  of 
us,  and  accept  this  evening  our  sad  and  cordial,  and,  if  I  may 
be  allowed  to  say  it,  our  fraternal,  farewell." 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  323 

Mr.  Edmund  Kelly,  in  his  speech,  gave  a  rapid  and  faithful 
sketch  of  Mr.  Morton's  diplomatic  career  in  France.  In 
closing  the  narrative,  he  said  :  "  And  then,  too,  not  a  single 
American  enterprise,  worthy  of  consideration,  has  been 
started  in  France  during  the  last  four  years,  but  owes  him  a 
debt  of  gratitude.  I  see  in  this  room  living  witnesses  to  the 
cordiality  and  eflectiveness  of  his  cooperation.  For  these  last 
four  years  have  been  full  of  American  achievement.  A  young 
engineer,  of  New  York,  has  revolutionized  the  silk  trade  by 
an  invention  which,  in  delicacy  of  treatment,  has  not  been  sur- 
passed by  Edison,  and,  in  fruitfulness  of  result,  hardly  equaled 
by  Arkwright  himself.  Two  of  our  fellow-citizens,  during 
the  hours  they  could  spare  from  their  already  engrossing  occu- 
pations, have  out  of  their  private  means,  added  a  couple  of 
sub-marine  cables  to  those  that  already  united  the  shores  of  the 
two  Republics.  Another  has  built  a  veritable  monument  of 
gothic  architecture  in  Paris,  which  will  materially  add  to  the 
beauty  of  what  is  already  the  most  beautiful  city  in  the  world. 
Another  of  our  countrymen  (and  this  enterprise  is,  perhaps, 
of  all  the  most  stupendous  in  its  presumptuousness,  and  the 
most  amazing  in  its  prosperity)  has  not  only  dared  to  under- 
take, but  has  actually  succeeded  in  the  publication  of  a  daily 
newspaper  in  this  country  of  France,  to  which  he  does  not  be- 
long, and  in  the  French  language,  which  he  hardly  under- 
stands. It  would  be  ungracious  not  to  admit  that  the  success 
of  these  men  (especially  in  this  last  case)  has  been  largely  due 
to  the  intelligent  assistance  and  welcome  of  the  people  among 
whom  we  live.  Every  one  of  them,  however,  has  had  his  way 
made  easy,  and  in  some  cases  his  success  determined,  by  the 
puissant  cooperation  of  our  late  minister." 


324  THE  LIFE  OF 

In  response,  among  other  excellent  things,  Mr.  Morton 
spoke  the  following  : 

"  It  has  been  my  constant  and  earnest  desire  to  discharge 
the  duties  of  the  position  in  a  manner  that  would  redound  to 
the  credit  of  the  government  and  country  I  have  had  the  honor 
to  represent ;  and  tend  to  cement  and  perpetuate  the  mutual 
affection  and  respect,  which  took  their  birth  when  France  came 
to  our  aid  during  our  struggle  for  independence.  If  my  efforts 
have  met  with  any  measure  of  the  success  which  your  partial- 
ity awards  to  them,  it  is  owing  to  the  friendly  consideration,  in 
all  official  and  personal  relations,  wdiich  I  have  received  from 
the  distinguished  statesmen  who  preside  over  the  destinies  of 
our  sister  Republic,  from  all  the  officers  of  the  government, 
and  from  the  people  of  France,  as  well  as  from  the  encourage- 
ment  and  cordial  support  wdiich  I  have  received  at  your  hands, 
representing  as  you  do  all  the  varieti  elements  of  American 
life  in  Paris.  The  intelligent  and  \aluable  services  which  have 
been  rendered  by  the  secretaries  of  Legation,  Messrs.  Brulatour 
and  Vignaud,  deserve  special  recognition,  and  wmII  long  be 
remembered  by  me  with  gratitude  and  pleasure.  In  all  my 
official  and  personal  relations  with  the  President  of  the  Repub- 
lic, the  distinguished  gentlemen  who  have  presided  at  the 
Quai  d'Orsay,  commencing  with  M.  Bartholemy  Saint-IIilaire, 
who  was  followed  by  that  illustrious  statesman  and  lirilliant 
orator,  Leon  Gambetta,  whose  death  w^as  mourned  by  the 
friends  of  France  throughout  the  world,  and  all  the  high  func- 
tionaries of  the  government,  I  have  found,  not  only  the  court- 
eous attention  to  which  the  representative  of  a  great  nation  is 
everywhere  entitled,  but  a  cordial  s}-mpathy  for  our  country, 
an  enlightened  admiration  for  its  institutions,  and  an  earnest 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  325 

desire  to  contril^ute  to  a  closer  union  between  the  two  repub- 
lics. .......... 

"We  are  honored  also  by  the  presence  of  my  most  distin- 
guished successor,  who  has  to-day  assumed  the  duties  of  his 
office.  Mr.  McLane's  eminent  services  in  high  official  stations 
—  in  Congress,  as  commissioner  to  China,  as  minister  of  the 
United  States  to  Mexico,  and  as  governor  of  the  State  of  Mary- 
land—  are  an  assurance  that  the  duties  of  his  new  position  will 
be  discharged  with  conspicuous  ability,  and  in  a  manner  alike 
honorable  to  his  country  and  himself.  I  could  not  ask  more 
for  my  personal  friend  and  late  colleague  in  Congress  than  the 
friendly  reception  accorded  to  me  by  the  government  and 
people  of  France,  and  the  hearty  support  which  I  have  received 
from  my  countrymen." 

The  papers  of  Paris  and  London  vied  with  each  other  in 
giving  such  accounts  of  this,  and  other  banquets,  as  did  honor 
to  Mr.  Morton.  vSpeaking  of  the  sentiments  expressed  on  the 
occasions  of  the  presentation  of  statue  of  Liberty  and  of  the 
farewell  banquet,  the  Paris  Temps  remarked  :  "  They  are  so 
natural  and  unconventional,  that  they  suggested  other  words 
than  the  common-place  ones  generally  expressed  on  such  oc- 
casions. In  most  of  these  utterances,  there  was  a  display  of 
real  feeling,  a  very  rare  thing  in  similar  instances." 

Said  the  London  Standard:  "Such  a  tribute  of  sympathy 
and  good-will  to  a  diplomatic  agent  on  his  retirement,  as  took 
place  to-night  at  the  Hotel  Continental,  is  without  precedent 
in  the  French  capital." 

The  London  Times:  "Mr.  Morton,  indeed,  during  his  four 
years'  I'esidence  in  Paris,  has  shown  great  hospitality,  and  has 
realized  the  type  of  modern  ambassadors,  who  succeed  in  in- 


J 


26  THE  LIFE  OF 


spirin<^  aH'cction  for  tlicir  own  nation  hy  manifesting  allcctiun 
for  the  nation  to  which  they  are  accrecHted.  Achiiirably 
seconded  by  Mrs.  Morton,  he  has  given  the  Legation  an  emi- 
nently social  character,  his  brilliant  receptions  being  attended 
not  only  by  the  numerous  members  of  the  American  colony, 
but  by  French  guests,  who  have  found  it  a  neutral  ground  such 
as  is  now  rarely  olFered  by  French  salons.  This  signal  testi- 
mony of  gratitude,  on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  was  there- 
fore amply  deserved,  while  it  was  equally  just  that  Frenchmen 
should  join  in  the  expression  of  esteem  inspired  by  Mr.  Monon 
during  his  too  brief  stay.  " 

^\\Q  Morning  News :  "The  honors  paid  to  Mr.  Morton 
yesterday  were  a  fitting  conclusion  to  perhaps  the  most  suc- 
cessful reign  ever  enjoyed  by  an  American  Minister  to  France. 
It  must  not  l)e  supposed  that  the  tribute  oilered  to  the  depart- 
ing minister  last  night  was  the  consequence  of  a  precedent. 
It  was,  in  fact,  a  novelty.  .  .  .  Mr.  Morton  will  carry 
with  him  to  his  American  home  the  gratefid  remembrance  of 
his  fellow-citizens  in  France,  and  no  future  honors  will  be  con- 
sidered by  them  too  lofty  or  too  well-deserved.  " 

In  company  with  Mr.  Brulatour,  Mr.  Morton  presented  him- 
self, on  the  14th  of  May,  to  M.  Gr^vy,  the  President  of  the 
Republic,  at  the  I'^lysee,  to  deliver  his  letters  of  recall. 

In  rei)ly  to  Mr.  Morton's  words  of  appreciation  of  all  the 
courtesies  that  had  been  extended  to  him,  JNl.  Grevy  said  : 

"  It  is  with  lively  regret  that  we  witness  your  departure. 
We  have  always  appreciated  \()ur  high  character  and  great 
courtesy,  ^'ou  lia\e  won  the  sympathv  of  all,  and  I  only  wish 
that  the  custom  and  tradition  of  the  two  countries  permitted 
me  to  ask,  as  a  taxor,  vovu"  ix'tcntion  in  ollice. 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  327 

"Mrs.  Morton's  departure  will  also  be  deeply  regretted,  as 
she  has  made  herself  universally  popular  by  her  perfect  tact 
and  amiability." 

Soon  after  these  events,  Mr.  Morton  and  his  family  sailed 
for  home.  He  himself  may  not  have  felt  fully  satisfied  with 
his  work  in  France  —  as  a  faithful  servant  never  feels  that  he 
has  done  all  that  he  might  have  done — but  he  certainly  did 
not  feel  that  he  could  not  congratulate  himself  on  his  success  ; 
nor  could  he  have  had  any  chidings  of  conscience  on  account 
of  misspent  time,  or  failure  to  do  his  duty.  Nor  was  there  a 
man  in  America,  or  in  France,  who  knew  anything  about  his 
career  in  the  latter  country,  that  could  not  heartily  have  said 
of  his  service,  "  Well  done." 

His  popularit}'  at  home  had  not  diminished,  meanwhile. 
For  no  sooner  was  it  there  ascertained  that  there  was  to  be  a 
Democratic  administration,  and  that  Mr.  Morton  must  return 
home,  than  his  friends  began  to  consider  him  as  a  candidate 
for  nomination  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1SS5,  while  he  was  yet  in  France,  his  name  was  brought 
before  the  Republican  caucus  ;  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
Mr.  Evarts  was  also  before  the  caucus,  Mr.  Morton  shov»'ed 
great  strength,  the  vote  in  the  caucus  being  as  follows  :  Evarts, 
61  ;  Morton,  28  ;  and  Depew,  3. 

Two  years  afterwards,  Mr,  Morton's  name  was  before  the 
legislature  for  the  same  ofhce.  The  result  (jf  the  first  l)allot 
was,  Morton,  33;  Hiscock,  11;  Miller,  43  ;  and  Smith  M. 
Weed  (Democrat),  61.  Mr.  Morton  then  withdrew  in  favor 
of  Mr.  Hiscock,  and  on  the  second  ballot  Mr.  Hiscock  received 
the  entire  Republican  vote,  and  was  elected. 


Chapter  VII. 


TIOME  AND  CHARITIES. 

NO.    85    FIFTH    AVENUE "FAIR     LAWN  " "  ELLERSLIE  " DOMESTIC 

CHARACTER      AND     TASTES  FAITHFUL     AND    ACCOMPLISHED    WIFE 

AND     DAUGHTERS  —  A     MAN       OF       BENEVOLENCE  "  ONE-QUARTER 

OF   THE   CARGO    OF     THE    CONSTELLATION"  — DETERMINATION     IF 
NOT    ACCEPTED  —  $50,000    FOR     RELIEF     OF    WORKINGMEN     DURING 

ROCKAW.W      BEACH      IMPROVEMENT       TROUBLES TESTIMONY       OF 

GRATEFUL    EMPLOYES  —  A    GIFT  TO    DARTMOUTH    COLLEGE —  OLEO- 
MARGARINE   LAWS  —  A    RECORD    WORTHY    OF    HONOR. 

Not  the  least  brilliant  and  successful  phase  of  Mr.  Morton's 
life,  has  been  his  home-life.  He  has  been  one  of  the  few  rich 
men  who  have  demonstrated  that  they  deserve  all  their  wealth 
by  the  use  they  make  of  it,  as  well  as  by  their  manner  of 
obtaining  it.  The  homes  he  has  occupied  have  been  true 
American  homes,  and  not  mansions  for  the  display  of  wealth. 
He  has  bought,  or  built,  tine  houses,  and  furnished  them  as 
a  man  of  taste  and  having  a  wife  of  taste  and  refinement, 
would  naturally  furnish  them. 

A  detailed  account  of  his  private  buying  and  selling  is  not 
necessary.  From  what  has  been  written,  no  one  would  accuse 
hiiii  of  a  wrong  transaction  in  the  matter  of  a  house-lot.  His 
more  public  transactions  were  too  large,  and  presented  tempta- 
tions and  opportunities  for  underhanded  dealing  fiir  too  great, 
lor  him  to  ha\'e  paused  to  bring  the  curses  of  a  poor  man  or  a 
common  dealer  upon  him  ;  and  that  his  record  in  the  smaller 
private  matters  is  clean,  is  witnessed  by  the  facts  that  it  is 
clean  in  the  other  matters,  and  that  there  is  no  poor  man    or 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  329 

widow  who  has  ever  had  dealings  with  him,  who  does  not 
crown  him  with  blessings. 

Three  large  mansions  have  conserved  the  influences  that 
Mr.  Morton  and  his  estimable  wife  have  been  able  to  gather 
under  the  sacred  name  of  home.  There  are  those  with  small 
means  who  have  humbler  cottages  that  inclose  influences  as 
pure  and  home-like,  and  as  conducive  to  contentment  and 
happiness  ;  but  it  requires,  therefore,  a  higher  art  to  take  more 
than  is  absolutely  necessary  for  such  a  place,  and  weave  it  into 
the  sacred  fabric  of  a  home,  so  that  there  shall  be  nothing 
surperfluous.  In  these  mansions,  this  art  has  been  displayed 
in  its  greatest  perfection. 

The  first  is  a  large,  brown-stone  house,  on  Fifth  Avenue, 
New  York.  If  it  were  standing  alone,  it  would  be  considered 
magnificent  in  its  outward  appearance.  But  crowded  among 
so  many — and  some  of  them  much  larger  —  monuments  of 
architectural  skill,  it  assumes  modest  proportions. 

There  is  a  wide  hall  running  from  the  street  doors  to  the 
dining-room  at  the  I'ear.  On  the  right  wall  hangs  a  large 
portrait  of  President  Garfield.  On  the  left  is  a  large  painting, 
by  Constant,  of  an  Eastern  dwelling.  The  door  on  the  right 
leads  into  the  parlors  ;  the  door  on  the  left,  into  the  library. 
The  stairway,  also,  leads  up  from  the  hall.  The  dining-room, 
at  the  end  of  the  hall,  is  almost  as  wide  as  the  house.  The 
portraits  that  hang  in  the  library,  are  those  of  Mr.  Morton's 
father,  the  Rev.  Daniel  O.  Morton  ;  his  uncle,  Levi  Parsons  ; 
Washington,  Arthur,  Lafayette,  McMahon,  Count  de  Roch- 
ambeau,  and  Gambetta.  There  is  also  a  picture  of  the  store 
of  Mr.  Esterbrook,  in  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  where  Mr. 
Morton  went    from    Enfield    to    be    a    clerk.     The    last    is    a 


330  THE  LIFE  OF 

daguerreotype ;  the  rest  are  all  works  of  masters.  The 
arrangement  of  tliese  pictures  betrays  the  same  taste  as  their 
selection.  Mr.  Morton  is  a  lover  of  art,  and  this  fact  is  seen 
in  all  in  the  room.     The  books  are  the  best  and  the  rarest. 

The  "  cottage  "  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  has  been  referred 
to.  It  was  purchased  about  1S69  or  1S70.  It  is  of  brick, 
painted  a  brown  stone  color.  From  the  avenue,  down  to  which 
the  spacious  grounds  lead,  "  Fair  Lawn  "  presents  a  cluster  of 
gables  and  chimneys,  so  arranged  as  to  give  a  most  pleasing 
effect.  Within,  the  appointments  are  not  unlike  those  of  No. 
85  Fifth  Avenue.  But  there  are  many  houses  on  Bellevue 
Avenue  more  costly  than  this. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Morton  and  his  family  made  "  Fair 
Lawn  "  their  summer  residence.  But  salt  atmosphere  was  not 
always  conducive  to  their  health,  and  it  became  necessary  to 
find  a  place  farther  iuhunl  for  summer.  For  this  purpose,  a 
large  tract  of  land  was  bought,  just  south  of  Rhinebeck,  a 
village  about  ninety  miles  up  the  Hudson  Ri\er,  and  three  miles 
back  from  the  river,  on  the  west  side. 

Rhinebeck  is  one  of  the  staid  old  towns  of  the  Hudson 
valley.  It  is  situated  among  the  hills  ;  and  the  ([uaint  old 
houses,  with  those  of  more  modern  type,  some  of  costly  con- 
struction, together  with  the  stately  trees  that  arch  the  streets  or 
half  hide  the  cottages  from  view,  make  it  very  picturesque. 

The  site  selected  for  the  new  house,  which  was  to  be  known 
as  "  Ellerslie,"  was  perhaps  three  miles  south  of  the  village.  It 
overlooked  the  Hudson  for  miles  up  and  down,  and  presented 
a  view  of  tlie  valleys  and  hills  just  across  the  river,  and  the 
Catskills  a  little  to  the  north.  The  house  was  finished  during 
the  summer  of  18SS,  and  was  constructed  of  lirown-stone  and 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  331 

tinted  wood,  the  former  reaching  only  to  the  second  story. 
The  floors  are  of  polished  oak.  The  dining-room  is  trimmed 
with  black  polished  walnut.  The  oaken  stairways  lead  from 
the  halls  to  the  second  and  third  stories.  Some  of  the  rooms 
are  decorated  with  rare  and  tinted  wood,  and  there  are  mantels 
of  Italian  and  Parian  marble  and  onyx.  The  extensive  grounds 
are  inclosed  by  a  stone  wall,  and  the  driveways  are  macadam- 
ized. There  are  nooks  and  groves,  and  lawns  and  fountains. 
The  ample  stables  in  the  rear  proclaim  that  the  owner  is  a 
lover  of  horses. 

There  is  nothing  about  all  this  that  indicates  an  attempt  at 
display,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  a  close  or  selfish  avoidance  of 
expenditure.  Everything  witnesses  to  liberality  and  a  love  of 
the  beautiful.  The  expenditure  has  all  been  cheerfully  applied 
to  some  purpose,  and  every  dollar  adds  its  efl'ect  to  the  beauty 
or  usefulness  of  the  surroundings.  Wherever  there  was  a 
thing  necessary  for  any  part  of  the  premises,  it  was  purchased 
without  any  hesitancy  ;  and  there  is  evidence  everywhere  that 
the  purchaser  knew  just  what  was  wanted  before  the  purchase 
was  made. 

The  description  of  these  houses  has  been  given  because  they 
are  all  exponents  of  the  domestic  character  and  tastes  of  those 
by  whom  and  for  whom  they  exist.  A  cultivated  fomily  ;  a 
man  of  broad  and  liberal  mind,  and  heart,  and  training,  a 
wife  of  rare  accomplishments  and  refinement,  and  daughters 
well-trained  and  of  excellent  and  refined  tastes.  For  there 
are  five  daughers,  the  eldest  of  whom  ^vas  born  in  1875. 

These  children  have  been  brought  up  under  most  excellent 
care  and  instruction.  The  best  of  home  teachers  —  govern- 
esses—  have   been   employed,  and    nothing    has    been  spared 


332  THE  LIFE  OF 

Avhich  will  tend  to  place  them  among  the  noble  women  of  the 
country  —  ornaments  to,  and  useful  members  of,  society. 

But  there  are  acts  yet  to  be  recorded  that  indicate,  better  than 
any  direct  words  of  praise,  the  character  of  Mr.  Morton,  and 
the  kind  of  moral  influences  that  pervade  his  home.  His 
benevolence  is  a  trait  of  his  character,  and  is  not  manifested 
alone  in  great  deeds  that  might  honor  him  before  men,  nor 
alone  in  private  deeds  toward  his  own  family  or  friends  in  a 
way  that,  after  all,  would  be  selfish. 

In  1880  occurred  the  great  famine  in  Ireland.  There  were 
thousands  of  sufferers,  sick  and  dying  of  starvation,  and  little 
relief  afforded  by  England.  Our  Congress  placed  at  the  dis- 
posal of  any  benevolent-hearted  Americans  who  might  be 
willing  to  contribute  to  the  relief  of  the  sufferers,  the  large 
ship  Constellation^  for  the  transportation  of  what  might  be 
donated.  Some  time  went  on,  and  no  one  seemed  to  realize 
the  importance  of  contributing.  After  some  weeks  the  follow- 
ing letter  was  printed  in  the  New  York  Herald: 

You  are  authorized  to  announce  that  a  gentleman  known  to  you, 
who  declines  to  have  his  name  made  public,  offers  to  paj  for  one- 
quarter  of  the  cargo  of  the  Coiis/clla/ion,  if  other  parties  will  make  up 
the  balance. 

It  was  not  long  until  this  notice  served  as  a  spur  to  others, 
and  the  proprietor  of  the  Herald  and  Mr.  W.  R.  Grace,  each 
contributed  a  fourth,  and  the  remaining  fourth  was  made  up 
by  a  number  of  other  gentlemen.  So  the  Cotistellation  sailed 
with  her  full  cargo,  and  carried  relief  to  the  famishing  of 
Ireland. 

The   autlior  of   the    letter  ant!    the   contributor   of  the   first 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  333 

quarter  was  Mr.  Morton.  It  was  his  intention,  if  the  ofter 
was  not  accepted,  to  furnish  the  cargo  himself.  He  was  not 
one  of  those  men  who  offer  to  do  great  things,  in  case  some 
other  impossible  or  wholly  improbable  thing  occurs. 

During  the  same  year  occurred  what  was  known  as  the 
Rockaway  Beach  Improvement  troubles.  An  enormous 
hotel  was  begun  at  Rockaway  Beach,  and  five  hundred  work- 
men were  employed.  The  great  scheme  failed,  and  the  work- 
men were  not  only  thrown  out  of  employment,  but  their  wages, 
which  had  been  kept  back,  they  now  found  impossible  to 
obtain.  They  were  poor,  and  they  needed  bread  for  their 
wives  and  children.  Certificates  of  indebtedness  were  issued 
to  them,  but  nobody  would  pay  cash  for  the  worthless  paper, 
or  give  food  for  it. 

It  was  at  this  moment  that  Mr.  Morton  came  forward,  and 
joining  with  the  firm  of  Drexel,  Morgan  &  Company,  the  two 
firms  contributed  $50,000  each,  paying  the  full  amount  of  the 
certificates,  and  refusing  to  accept  any  discount. 

Nor  did  Mr.  Morton  wait  until  late  in  life,  when  he  had 
amassed  his  fortune,  before  he  manifested  the  charitable  and 
benevolent  characteristics.  When  the  firm  of  Morton  &  Grin- 
nell  failed  in  [861,  the  senior  partner  assumed  the  whole  in- 
debtedness, refusing  to  allow  Mr.  Grinnell  to  bear  any  part  of 
it.  And  it  has  already  been  related  how,  after  going  into  busi- 
ness again  and  becoming  able  to  pay  the  full  amount,  he  did 
so  by  checks  to  which  his  own  name  alone  was  signed. 

Sometime  since,  a  gentleman  strollingalong  Bellevue  Avenue, 
in  Newport,  came  to  "  Fair  Lawn,"  and  seeing  the  gate  open, 
and  the  gardener  trimming  some  shrubbery  near  at  hand,  he 
went  in.     He  was  invited  by  the  gardener  to  the  latter's  cozy 


334  THE  LIFE  OF 

cottage  that  stood  not  far  from  the  large  "cottage  "  known  as 
"Fair  Lawn." 

"  Does  Mr.  Morton  come  here  in  summer  now?"  asked  the 
stranger. 

"  No.     He  has  not  been  here  for  two  or  three  years." 

"  Would  you  be  glad  to  see  him  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  would." 

"  Was  he  kind?" 

"  He  was.  He  was  not  too  big  to  come  out  now  and  then, 
and  talk  friendly  to  me.  He  treated  all  the  servants  on  the 
place  kindly." 

"  Why,  only  think  !  "  spoke  up  the  gardener's  wife  enthu- 
siastically, "  when  he  and  Mrs.  Morton  came  to  Newport, 
two  or  three  years  ago,  just  before  they  started  on  a  trip  to 
Europe,  they  stopped  here  a  wdiole  week.  And  they  came 
over  here  to  this  little  house  every  morning  and  ate  with  us. 
They  would  sit  down  to  our  table,  just  like  any  common  folks  ; 
and  they  would  enjoy  being  with  us  —  but  not  near  as  much  as 
we  did  to  have  them  come  !  Wliy,  sometimes  Mrs.  Morton 
woidd  come  over  and  talk  awhile  before  meal  time,  and  some- 
times she  would  take  hold  and  help  me  ;  or  she  wouKl  show 
me  how  to  do  this  or  that.  Oh,  she's  a  lady  that  /s  a  lady,  I 
tell  you  !  " 

There  could  be  given  no  licttcr  proof  of  the  thorough  Amer- 
icanism of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Morton  than  this.  They  had  no  aris- 
tocratic rules  that  kept  them  aloof  from  others  of  real  worth. 
Believing  that  the  merit  of  character  alone  should  entitle  one 
to  recognition  and  association,  they  dared  show  it  in  their 
actions. 

Some  years  ago,  Mr.  Morton  presented  a  park  to  the  city  of 


LEVI  P.  MORTON.  335 

Newport,  which,  though  now  unimproved,  will  one  day  be 
one  of  the  attractions  of  the  city.  It  is  situated  in  the  angle 
between  Brenton  Street  and  Coggeshall  Avenue. 

In  18S5,  he  bought  a  house  and  lot  at  Hanover,  New  Hamp- 
shire, for  which  he  paid  the  sum  of  $7,500.  He  then  pre- 
sented the  property  to  Dartmouth  College.  The  gift  was  to 
enable  the  college  to  erect  an  art  gallery  and  museum. 

It  can  thus  be  seen  that  Levi  P.  Morton's  sympathies  are 
with  the  people,  poor  or  rich,  whose  cause  is  just.  He  makes 
no  class  distinctions  ;  though,  no  doubt,  from  his  own  early 
experience  of  poverty,  at  Shoreham,  Springfield,  and  Win- 
chendon,  and  the  inconvenience,  denial  of  opportunities,  and 
even  suffering,  to  his  father's  family,  consequent  upon  that 
poverty,  his  inclinations  are  toward  the  defense  of  the  poor. 
He  has  always  been  quick  to  relieve  suffering  of  any  kind. 
He  has  been  as  quick  to  appreciate  a  cause  of  justice,  and  place 
himself  upon  that  side.  In  Congress,  he  was  always  found 
upon  the  side  where  he  believed  the  interests  of  the  people  to 
be.  Out  of  Congress,  he  watched  with  interest  the  legislative 
acts  of  the  country  and  his  own  state,  and  was  always  ready  to 
do  what  he  could  to  induce  legislation  in  behalf  or  the  inter- 
ests of  the  people.  He  watched  with  jealous  and  anxious  eye 
those  interests  especially  on  which  the  welfare  and  happiness" 
of  all  classes  were  based  —  business  interests. 

A  gentleman  and  a  Christian,  a  business  man  and  a  states- 
man,—  in  the  broad,  true  sense  of  each  of  those  terms, —  Mr. 
Morton  is  preeminently  a  representative  of  the  highest  type  of 
American  men.  His  history  and  character,  domestic,  social, 
business,  and  public,  are  such  as  to  challenge  the  patriotic 
pride  of  every  true  citizen  of  our  Republic. 


PART  III. 


Part  Third. 


THE     REPUBLICAN    PARTY  —  ITS     RECORD 
AND  ITS  PRESENT  POSITION. 


Chapter  I. 


ITS  GLORIOUS  ACHIEVEMENTS. 

REPEAL  OF  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE POLITICAL  BREAK-UP FOR- 
MATION OF  THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY ELECTION  OF  1S56  —  FREE- 
DOM   OR    SLAVERY  IN    THE    TERRITORIES LINCOLN    AND    DOUGLAS 

DEBATE — ELECTION    OF  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN — SECESSION WAR  FOR 

THE    UNION  —  UNPATRIOTIC    ATTITUDE    OF  THE  DEMOCRATIC  PARTY 

—  THE     REPUBLICAN     PARTY    THE     DEFENDER     OF     NATIONALITY 

EMANCIPATION ENFRANCHISEMENT  OF  THE  COLORED  RACE. 

In  1852,  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New  Hampshire,  was  elected 
President  by  the  Democratic  party,  receiving  the  electoral 
votes  of  twenty-seven  states.  Four  States  only,  Massachusetts 
and  Vermont  in  the  North,  and  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  in  the 
South,  cast  their  votes  for  General  vScott,  the  Whig  candidate. 

The  Democratic  platform,  upon  which  Mr.  Pierce  was 
chosen,  was  framed  in  entire  subserviency  to  the  interests  and 
the  wishes  of  the  Southern  slave-holders.  The  Democratic 
Convention  resolved    that  "  all  eftbrts  of  the  Abolitionists   or 


340  THE  RECORD  OF 

others  to  induce  Congress  to  interfere  with  questions  of  slavery, 
or  to  take  incipient  steps  in  relation  thereto,  are  calculated  to 
lead  to  the  most  alarming  and  dangerous  consequences."  The 
compromise  measures  by  which  the  extension  of  slavery  into 
free  territory  had  been  restricted  were  approved  ;  but  so  also 
was  the  fugitive  slave  law  by  which  Congress  hatl  enacted  that 
a  man  or  woman  or  child,  possibly  free-born,  might  be  con- 
signed to  life-long  slavery  by  the  judgment  of  a  United  .States 
commissioner,  without  having  a  trial  by  jury  to  decide  the 
rightfulness  of  a  claim  to  freedom.  The  Democratic  platform 
further  declared  that  "  the  Democratic  party  will  resist  all 
attempts  at  renewing,  in  Congress  or  out  of  it,  the  agitation  of 
the  slavery  question,  under  whatever  shape  or  color  the  at- 
tempts may  be  made."  The  Democratic  Convention  adopted 
this  pro-slavery  platform  with  entire  unanimity  and  unre- 
strained enthusiasm.  The  Whig  Convention  of  1S52  was 
divided  on  the  slavery  question. 

After  long  discussion  and  against  strenuous  protest,  the 
Whigs  agreed  upon  a  platform  no  less  in  the  interest  of  slavery 
than  that  of  the  Democrats. 

The  resolutions  declared  that  the  compromise  measures,  in- 
cluding the  fugitive  slave  law  "  are  received  and  acquiesced  in 
l)y  the  Whig  party  of  the  United  States  as  a  settlement  in  prin- 
ciple and  in  substance  of  the  dangerous  and  exciting  questions 
which  they  embrace." 

The  public  sentiment  of  iS^2  was  strongly  opposed  to  any 
further  agitation  of  the  slavery  question,  and  the  North  acqui- 
esced in  unrighteous  and  cruel  laws,  violative  of  the  piimal 
rights  of  man,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  commercial  interests. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  341 

And  Pierce  proved  the  stronger  candidate,  because  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  was  united  in  upholding  the  settlement  of  the 
slavery  controversy  that  had  been  so  solemnly  made,  while 
among  the  Northern  Whigs  were  multitudes  who  could  not, 
in  good  conscience,  give  their  consent  to  the  fugitive-slave  law. 
Divided  and  disheartened,  the  Whigs  Avere  beaten  in  many 
states  where  they  had  been  in  the  ascendant,  but  the  Demo- 
cratic majority  in  the  popular  vote  was  not  so  great  as  in  the 
vote  in  the  electoral  colleges. 

Pierce  received  a  total  of  1,601,274  votes,  Scott,  1,386,580, 
and  Hale,  the  candidate  of  the  Free  Soilers,  155,825.  The 
absolute  majority  for  Pierce  was  but  58,896. 

In  his  first  message,  sent  to  Congress  in  December,  1853, 
President  Pierce  declared  that  when  "  the  grave  shall  have 
closed  over  all  who  are  now  endeavoring  to  meet  the  obliga- 
tions of  duty,  the  year  1S50  will  be  recurred  to  as  a  period  of 
anxious  apprehension."  He  declared  of  the  Compromise  of 
1850  that  "it  had  given  renewed  vigor  to  our  institutions,  and 
restored  a  sense  of  repose  and  security  to  the  public  mind," 
and  pledged  that  this  "repose"  should  sufter  no  shock  if  he 
"  had  the  power  to  avert  it." 

That  very  winter  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  Democratic  Senator 
from  Illinois,  reported  to  the  Senate  a  bill  to  organize  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  as  territories,  and  in  one  section  of  the  bill  the 
Missouri  Compromise  of  1S20  was  declared  to  be  inoperative 
and  void.  By  the  famous  Missouri  Compromise  a  vast  terri- 
tory westward  and  northwestward  of  Missouri  and  Iowa, 
stretching  from  the  north  line  of  Arkansas  to  the  British  bor- 
der, twelve  and  a  half  degrees  of  latitude,  and    westward  to 


342  THE  RECORD  OF 

Utah  and  Oregon,  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  freedon-i.  The 
proposition  of  Senator  Douglas  now  was  that  the  solemn  guar- 
anty of  the  men  of  1S20  —  South  and  North  joining  in  the  com- 
pact that  the  territory  north  of  36°  30'  should  be  free  soil  — 
should  be  repealed,  and  the  way  left  open  for  the  extension  of 
the  slave  system  of  the  South  over  all  that  magnificent  domain, 
Douglas  was  an  ambitious  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and 
sought  by  this  act  of  subserviency  to  Southern  demands  to 
secure  the  solid  support  of  the  South.  In  his  heart  he  did  not 
desire  the  spread  of  slavery,  and  he  doubtless  believed  as 
well  as  hoped  that  slavery  would  gain  the  form,  and  freedom 
the  substance,  in  the  conflict  for  the  control  of  this  imperial 
domain,  which  his  proposition  invited.  He  trusted  that  settlers 
from  the  free  states  would  outnumber  those  from  slave  states, 
and  that  the  institutions  of  the  new  territories  would  be  moulded 
by  the  forces  of  freedom. 

Meanwhile  he  expected  to  be  rewarded  with  the  presidential 

jjffice  for  his  service  to  the   South   in  leading  in  an  effort  to 

repeal   the  covenant  by  which   the  South,   in  an   earlier  and 

more  honorable  day,  had  excluded  her  peculiar  institution  from 

that  then  unpeopled  and  almost  unknown  region. 

The  excitement  throughout  the  North  that  this  proposition 
to  repeal  the  Compromise  called  forth  was  unequaled  hitherto 
in  our  political  history.  The  North  was  ablaze  with  indigna- 
tion, and  protest  Wils  thundered  in  the  ears  of  Congress.  The 
Democratic  party  in  Congress  followed  the  lead  of  Douglas  ; 
with  some  honorable  exceptions,  the  Southern  Whigs  united 
with  the  Southern  Democrats,  and  on  tlic  30th  of  May,  1854, 
the    Compromise    was    repealed,    and    the    door    was    ojDcned 


« 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.'  343 

for  the  advance  of  slavery  over  the  plains  of  the  Northwest. 
Pierce,  the  Democratic  President  who  had  pledged  himself  not 
to  permit  the  violation  of  the  compacts  which  had  secured 
political  repose,  perfidiously  signed  the  bill  repealing  the  first 
of  the  two  compromises  which  were  the  bases  of  repose. 

The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  quickly  fol- 
lowed by  the  breaking  up  of  old  political  organizations.  The 
Whig  party  perished  in  an  hour.  The  Southern  Whigs  were 
left  to  drift,  some  at  once  and  some  more  slowly,  into  the 
ranks  of  the  Pro-Slavery  Democracy.  The  great  mass  of  the 
Northern  Whigs,  with  tens  of  thousands  of  freedom-loving 
Northern  Democrats,  coalesced  as  Republicans,  animated  by 
the  purpose  of  opposing  the  aggressions  of  the  slave  power 
and  preserving  forever  free  the  soil  not  yet  devoted  to  the  slave 
system.  Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Republican  party,  in  the 
vear  1854.  Before  the  end  of  that  year  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  of  the  Northern  States  were  united  as  Republicans 
under  the  banner  on  which  was  inscribed  "Free  Soil,  Free 
Speech,  and  Free  Men  "  ;  and  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
South  was  ranged  under  the  flag  of  the  Democratic  party  as 
the  upholders  of  slavery,  not  only  in  the  states  where  it  already 
existed,  but  as  an  institution  to  be  extended  as  far  as  circum- 
stances would  permit  it  to  be  carried.  From  1854  to  1860  a 
continuous  struggle  was  waged  in  Congress,  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  at  the  polls  in  every  Northern  state,  on  the  plains  of 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  over  the  question  whether  slavery 
should  be  permitted  or  prohibited,  in  the  territoiues.  The  new 
Republican  party  took  the  field  in  the  presidential  election  of 
1S56   with    General  John   C.   Fremont,   of   California,    as    its 


344  THE  RECORD  OF 

standard  bearer.  Douglas  failed  of  his  reward.  Neither 
President  Pierce  nor  Senator  Douglas  were  considered  avail- 
able by  the  Southern  Democrats,  who,  under  the  rule  of  the 
Democratic  National  conventions  that  two-thirds  of  all  the 
delegates  must  concur  in  a  nomination,  always  dominated  in 
the  conventions  of  the  party.  Both  Pierce  and  Douglas  strug- 
gled desperately  for  the  Democratic  nomination  for  President 
in  1S56,  but  both  were  set  aside  in  favor  of  James  Buchanan, 
of  Pennsylvania.  Buchanan  had  never  given  a  vote  oftensWe 
to  the  South  on  the  slavery  question,  but  his  absence  from  the 
country  as  minister  to  England  had  saved  him  from  the  oblo- 
quy which  attached  to  Pierce  and  Douglas,  the  responsible 
authors  of  the  repeal  of  the  Compromise. 

In  the  election  every  Southern  state  voted  for  Buchanan, 
except  Maryland  which  voted  for  Fillmore  the  candidate  of  the 
ephemeral  "American"  organization. 

Buchanan  carried  in  the  North  his  own  state  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  the  states  of  New  Jersey,  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Cali- 
fornia. 

Eleven  Northern  States  voted  for  Fremont. 

The  popular  vote  was  :  for  Buchanan,  1,838,169  ;  Fremont, 
1,341,264;  Fillmore,  874,534. 

Although  defeated,  the  moral  victory  was  with  the  Republi- 
cans. They  had  in  their  first  national  struggle  obtained  the 
votes  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  the  free  states. 

From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  President  Buchanan's  term 
the  struggle  between  freedom  and  slavery  for  the  control  of 
the  territories  continued.  There  was  bloodshed  in  Kansas, 
hot   and   angry  debates    in   Congress.      Threats  to  dissolve  'the 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  345 

Union  were  frequently  made  by  rejDresentatives  of  the  South. 

During-  Mr.  Buchanan's  administration  there  took  place  on 
the  hustings  in  Illinois  the  famous  joint  debate  between  Abra- 
ham Lincoln,  the  champion  of  the  Republicans,  and  Senator 
Douglas,  the  advocate  of  the  doctrine  of  non-intei-ference  by 
Congress  with  the  question  of  slavery  in  the  territories.  In 
his  opening  speech  Mr.  Lincoln  uttered  these  memorable 
words:  "I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure  perma- 
nently half  slave,  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  L^nion  to  be 
dissolved  ;  I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall ;  but  I  do  expect  it 
will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all 
the  other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the 
further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall 
rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction, 
or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike 
lawful  in  all  the  states,  old  as  well  as  new,  north  as  well  as 
south." 

Lincoln  advocated  a  positive  prohibition  of  slavery  in  the 
territories  by  the  general  government.  Douglas  argued  in 
favor  of  submitting  the  question  of  slavery  to  the  people  of  the 
territory  itself.  The  South  was  not  satisfied  with  the  position 
of  Mr.  Douglas.  The  contention  of  the  Southern  Democrats 
was  that  where  the  Constitution  went  slavery  might  go,  and 
that  no  power  existed  either  in  Congress  or  the  people  of  any 
territory  by  which  slavery  could  be  excluded.  Buchanan 
threw  all  the  influence  of  the  administration  against  Douglas 
in  his  contest  for  the  Senate  with  Lincoln  (the  debate  occurred 
in  a  senatorial  canvass),  and  gave  countenance  to  the  u/^ra  de- 
mands of  the  slave  power. 


346  THE  RECORD  OF 

The  unwillingness  of  Douglas  to  take  the  position  that  the 
people  of  a  territory  had  no  right  to  banish  slavery  from  theii" 
borders,  secured  him  a  reelection  to  the  Senate  from  the 
people  of  Illinois,  but  it  fatally  damaged  his  prospects  for  the 
presidency  by  alienating  the  Southern  democracy  which 
would  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short  of  absolute  subserviency 
to  the  interests  of  slavery  extension.  In  iS6o  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
nominated  for  President  by  the  Republican  Convention  on  a 
platform  of  opposition  to  slavery  extension.  The  Democratic 
Convention  split  in  twain  after  a  prolonged  and  bitter  contro- 
versy at  Charleston,  S.  C.  The  Southern  wing  of  the  party 
nominated  John.  C.  Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  the 
Northern  wing  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  The  Republicans 
marched  to  an  easy  and  certain  triumph.  Lincoln  carried 
every  free  state  with  the  exception  of  New  Jersey  which 
divided  her  electoral  votes,  Lincoln  obtaining  four.  Breckin- 
ridge carried  every  slave  state  save  four — Virginia,  Kentucky, 
and  Maryland  voting  for  John  Bell,  Conservative  Unionist ; 
and  Missouri  for  Douglas. 

The  Southern  leaders  who  were  bent  on  secession  from  the 
Union  had  wrecked  the  fortunes  of  the  Democratic  party,  and 
the  subserviency  of  that  party  to  the  slave  power  while  not 
satisfying  the  demands  of  tliat  arrogant  political  class,  had 
forfeited  forever  the  confidence  of  the  masses  of  the  people  in 
the  Northcn  vStates.  At  no  presidential  election  since  1S56 
has  the  Democratic  party  carried  more  than  four  of  the  old  free 
states,  and  its  pluralities  in  the  four  states  it  has  twice  carried 
have  in  the  aggregate  been  less  than  the  Republican  plurality 
during  all  that  period  in  either  of  several  Northern  States. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  347 

"  The  long  political  struggle  was  over.  A  more  serious  one 
was  about  to  begin.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the 
government,  the  South  was  defeated  in  a  presidential  election 
where  an  issue  affecting  the  slavery  question  was  involved. 
There  had  been  grave  conflicts  before,  sometimes  followed  by 
compromise,  oftener  by  victory  for  the  South.  But  the  elec- 
tion of  i860  was  the  culmination  of  a  contest  which  was  in- 
herent in  the  structure  of  the  government ;  which  was  fore- 
shadowed by  the  Louisiana  question  of  1S12;  which  became 
active  and  angry  over  the  admission  of  Missouri  ;  which  was 
revived  by  the  annexation  of  Texas,  and  still  further  inflamed 
by  the  Mexican  War  ;  which  was  partially  allayed  by  the  com- 
promises of  1850  ;  which  was  precipitated  for  final  settlement 
by  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  by  the  consequent 
struggle  for  mastery,  in  Kansas,  and  by  the  aggressive  inter- 
vention of  the  Supreme  Court  in  the  case  of  Dred  Scott. 
These  are  the  events  which  led,  often  slowly,  but  always  with 
directness,  to  the  political  revolution  of  i860.  The  contest 
was  inevitable,  and  the  men  whose  influence  developed  and 
encouraged  it  may  charitably  be  regardad  as  the  blind  agents 
of  fate.  But  if  personal  lesponsibility  for  prematurely  forcing 
the  conflict  belongs  to  any  body  of  men,  it  attaches  to  those 
who,  in  1854,  broke  down  the  adjustments  of  1820  and  of  1850. 
If  the  compromises  of  those  years  could  not  be  maintained, 
the  North  believed  that  all  compromise  was  impossible  ;  and 
they  prepared  for  the  struggle  which  this  fact  foreshadowed. 
They  had  come  to  believe  that  the  house  divided  against  itself 
could  not  stand ;  that  the  Republic  half  slave,  half  free,  could 
not  endure.     They  accepted  as  their  leader  the  man  who  pro- 


348  THE  RECORD  OF 

claimed  these  truths.  'I'he  peaceful  revolution  was  complete 
when  Abraham  Lincoln  was  chosen  President  of  the  United 
States."  « 

The  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  was  made  the  pretext  for  the 
secession  of  eleven  of  the  Democratic  slave  states  from  the 
Union.  Then  ensued  the  war  for  the  Union.  Upon  this  un- 
happy period  the  people  do  not  care  to  dwell  except  when  on 
proper  occasion  they  recall  the  valor  and  the  devotion  of  the 
soldiers  of  the  Republic,  and  remember  to  discharge  the  debt 
of  honor  the  Nation  owes  to  its  patriotic  defenders.  In 
examining  or  discussing  the  record  of  political  parties  since 
the  old-fashioned  Democracy  went  to  pieces  on  the  rock  of 
slavery  in  1854,  it  is,  however,  only  historic  justice  that  the 
position  of  the  Democratic  and  Republican  parties  during  the 
war  should  be  presented  and  contrasted. 

President  Lincoln,  as  a  war  measure,  issued  an  Emancipation 
Proclamation  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1863,  declaring  free 
all  slaves  within  certain  d-esignated  territory.  This  great  act, 
one  of  the  most  illustrious  in  all  history,  was  condemned  by 
the  leading  Democrats  of  the  North  as  unconstitutional. 

The  next  year,  1S64,  the  Democratic  presidential  convention 
adopted  as  the  first  resolution  of  its  platform  the  following : 

"That  this  convention  does  explicitly  declare^  as  the  sense 
of  the  American  peojile,  that  after  four  years  of  failure  to 
restore  t/ie  Union  by  tJie  experiment  of  war,  during  which, 
under  the  pretense  of  a  military  necessity  of  war  power 
higher  than  the  Constitution,  the  Constitution  itself  has  been 
disregarded  in  every  part,  and  public  liberty  antl  private  right 
alike  trodden  down,  and  the  material  prosperity  of  the  coun- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  349 

try  essentially  impaired,  justice,  humanity,  liberty,  and  the 
public  welfare  demand  that  immediaie  efforts  be  made  for  a 
cessation  of  hostilities^  with  a  view  to  the  ultimate  convention 
of  the  states,  or  other  peaceable  means  to  the  end  that  at  the  ear- 
liest practicable  moment  peace  may  be  restored  on  the  basis  of 
the  Federal  Union  of  the  states." 

In  strong  contrast  to  this  weak,  cowardly,  and  unpatriotic 
declaration,  were  the  first  and  second  resolutions  of  the  Na- 
tional Union  Republican  Convention  which  nominated  Mr. 
Lincoln  for  reelection  the  same  year  : 

"  That  it  is  the  highest  duty  of  every  American  citizen  to 
maintain  against  all  their  enemies  the  integrity  of  the  Union 
and  the  paramount  authority  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of 
the  United  States  ;  and  that,  laying  aside  all  differences  of 
political  opinions,  we  pledge  ourselves  as  Union  men,  ani- 
mated by  a  common  sentiment,  and  aiming  at  a  common  ob- 
ject, to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  aid  the  Government  in 
quelling  by  force  of  arms  the  rebellion  now  raging  against  its 
authority  and  in  bringing  to  the  punishment  due  to  their 
crimes  the  rebels  and  traitors  arrayed  against  it.  That  we  ap- 
prove the  determination  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  not  to  compromise  with  rebels  or  to  ofier  them  any 
terms  of  peace,  except  such  as  may  be  based  upon  an  uncon- 
ditional sun^ender  of  their  hostility,  and  a  return  to  their  just 
allegiance  to  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States  ; 
and  that  we  call  upon  the  Government  to  maintain  this  posi- 
tion and  to  prosecute  the  war  with  the  utmost  possible  vigor 
to  the  complete  suppression  of  the  rebellion,  in  full  reliance 
upon  the  self-sacrificing  patriotism,  the  heroic   valor,  and  the 


350  THE  RECORD  OF 

undying  devotion  of  the  American  people  to  the  country  and 
its  free  institutions." 

The  verdict  of  the  loyal  people  of  the  country  was  over- 
wlielmingly  in  favor  of  the  administration  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
the  Democratic  platform  of  1864  fell  under  a  weight  of  pop- 
ular odium.  Any  young  American  may  be  proud  to  range 
himself  as  a  member  of  the  great  historic  party,  whose  record 
during  the  war  is  of  courage  and  fidelity  to  the  Union  and  to 
liberty,  and  which  sustained  Abraham  Lincoln  in  his  masterly 
struggle  for  the  integrity  of  the  government.  No  young 
American  can  join  with  pride  a  political  parly  whose  repre- 
sentatives were  so  recreant  to  high  principle  and  patriotic  duty 
as  those  of  the  Democratic  party  in  the  hour  of  tlie  Nation's 
severest  trial. 

Just  before  the  close  of  tlie  war  the  thirteenth  amendment 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  abolishing  slavery 
throughout  the  Nation,  was  proposed  by  Congress  for  the  rati- 
fication of  the  states.  January  31,  1S65,  the  vote  was  taken  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  All  the  Republicans  voted  in 
favor  of  the  amendment.  Just  eleven  Democrats  were  pre- 
pared, in  that  hour  of  approaching  triumph  for  the  Union  cause, 
to  vote  in  favor  of  abolishing  slavery.  Fifty-six  Democrats,  more 
than  five  times  the  number  voting  for  freedom,  voted  no  on  the 
proposition  to  submit  to  the  states  the  abolition  amendment. 
The  amendtuent  had  previously  passed  the  Senate  with  six 
votes,  all  Democratic,  against  it. 

After  the  war  the  Republican  party  reconstructed  the  Union 
upon  the  basis  of  general  anmesty  and  manhood  sufirage.  The 
Republican    statesmen,   after   long   deliberation,   decided,  and 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 


35' 


decided  wisely  as  history  will  recognize,  that  it  was  not  prac- 
ticable or  just  to  restore  civil  crovernment  in  the  seceding  states 
without  giving  to  the  colored  race  exact  civil  and  political 
equality  with  the  white  race.  The  Democratic  party  offered 
the  most  bitter  opposition  to  every  measure  designed  to  secure 
equality  before  the  law  to  the  colored  race.  Not  a  single 
Democratic  vote  was  given  in  either  house  of  Congress  in 
favor  of  the  submission  to  the  states  of  the  fifteenth  amend- 
ment of  the  Constitution,  and  that  amendment  received  scarcely 
a  Democratic  vote  in  the  state  legislatures  throughout  the  Union. 
Later  on  we  shall  consider  the  present  relations  of  the 
colored  race  to  our  politics  in  connection  with  the  subject  of 
free  and  fair  elections  in  certain  states  ;  but  we  turn  now  to 
the  subject  which  is  uppermost  in  tlie  public  mind. 


-=^--— .r^^:^^^-^^ 


Chapter  II. 


THE   TARIFF. 

REVIEW     OF    THE     TARIFF     CONTROVERSY —  THE     qUESTION    STATED    BY 

MR.      BLAINE INJURIOUS      EFFECTS      OF      TARIFF      REDUCTIONS  

TARIFF  OF  1857  —  PROTECTION  AND  FREE  TRADE  AS  A  POLITICAL 
ISSUE  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  —  TARIFF  OF  1883  —  PRESIDENT 
CLEVELAND'S  MESSAGE  —  THE  RAW  MATERIALS  C^ESTION —  THE 
DOCTRINE    OF    PROTECTION. 

By  common  consent  the  presidentiiil  election  of  iSSS  in- 
volves a  decision  of  the  issue  of  whether  the  duties  levied  by 
the  general  government  upon  imports  from  foreign  countries 
shall  be  imposed  for  the  purpose  of  fostering  American  indus- 
tries and  protecting  them  against  the  competition  in  the  mar- 
kets of  the  United  States  of  the  products  of  foreign  countries 
where  the  cost  of  production  is  less  than  in  America.  A  suc- 
cinct presentment  of  the  tarifl  issue  cannot  be  so  easily  and 
effectively  made  as  by  copious  extracts  from  the  discussion  of 
it  by  Mr.  Blaine,  recognized  by  his  political  opponents  as  one 
of  the  ablest  defenders  of  the  protective  system.  Accordingly 
such  quotation  will  be  made  : 

"  The  slavery  question  was  not  the  only  one  which  de- 
veloped into  a  chronic  controversy  between  certain  elements 
of  Northern  opinion  and  certain  elements  of  Southern  opinion. 
A  review  of  the  sectional  struggle  would  be  incomplete  if  it 
did  not  embrace  a  narrative  of  those  differences  on  the  tariff' 
which  at  times  led  to  serious  disturbance,  and,  on  one  memor- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  353 

able  occasion,  to  an  actual  threat  of  resistance  to  the  authority 
of  the  government.  The  division  upon  the  tariff'  was  never 
so  accurately  defined  by  geographical  lines  as  was  the  division 
upon  slavery  ;  but  the  aggressive  elements  on  each  side  of  both 
questions  finally  coalesced  in  the  same  states,  North  and  South. 
Massachusetts  and  South  Carolina  marched  in  the  van-guard 
of  botli  controversies ;  and  the  states  which  respectively 
followed  on  the  tariff'  issue  were,  in  large  part,  the  same 
which  followed  on  the  slavery  question,  on  both  sides  of  Mason 
and  Dixon's  line. 

"Anti-slavery  zeal  and  a  tariff'  for  protection  went  hand  in 
hand  in  New  England,  while  pro-slavery  principles  became 
nearly  identical  with  free-trade  in  the  cotton  states.  If  the  rule 
had  its  exception,  it  was  in  localities  where  the  strong  pres- 
sure of  special  interest  was  operating,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
sugar-planter  of  Louisiana,  who  was  willing  to  concede  gener- 
ous protection  to  the  cotton  spinner  of  Lowell  if  he  could 
thereby  secure  an  equally  strong  protection,  in  his  own  field 
of  enterprise  against  the  pressing  competition  of  the  island  of 
Cuba.  The  general  rule,  after  years  of  experimental  legisla- 
tion, resolved  itself  into  protection  in  the  one  section  and  free 
trade  in  the  other.  And  this  was  not  an  unnatural  division. 
Zeal  against  slavery  was  necessarily  accompanied  by  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  dignity  of  free  labor  ;  and  free  labor  was  more 
generously  remunerated  under  the  stimulus  of  protective  laws. 
The  same  considerations  produced  a  directly  opposite  conclu- 
sion in  the  South,  where  those  interested  in  slave  labor  could 
not  afford  to  build  up  a  class  of  free  laborers  with  high  wages 
and  independent  opinions. 
23 


354  THE  RECORD  OF 

"  In  the  beginning  of  the  controversy  it  was  expected  that 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  would  grow  up  side  by  side  with  its 
production,  and  that  thus  the  community  which  produced  the 
fibre  would  share  in  the  profit  of  the  fabric.  During  this 
period  the  representatives  from  the  cotton  states  favored  high 
duties  ;  but  as  time  wore  on,  and  it  became  evident  that  slave- 
labor  was  not  adapted  to  the  factory,  and  that  it  was  undesir- 
able if  not  impossible  to  introduce  free  white  labor  with  re- 
munerative wages  side  by  side  with  unpaid  slave  labor,  the 
leading  minds  of  the  South  turned  against  the  manufacturing 
interest. 

"  The  tariff  question  has  in  fact  been  more  frequently  debated 
than  any  other  issue  since  the  foundation  of  the  Federal 
Government.  The  present  generation  is  more  familiar  with 
questions  relating  to  slavery,  to  war,  to  reconstruction  ;  but  as 
these  disappear  by  permanent  adjustment,  the  tariff  returns,  and 
is  eagerly  seized  upon  by  both  sides  of  the  controversy.  More 
than  any  other  issue,  it  represents  the  enduring  and  persistent 
line  of  division  between  the  two  parties  which  in  a  generic 
sense  have  always  existed  in  the  United  States  :  the  part\  of 
strict  construction  and  the  party  of  liberal  construction  ;  the 
party  of  states  rights  and  the  party  of  national  supremacy  ;  the 
party  of  stinted  revenue  and  restricted  expenditure  and  the 
party  of  generous  income  with  its  wise  application  to  pulilic 
improvement. 

"  Public  attention  may  be  temporarily  engrossed  by  some 
exigent  subject  of  controversy,  but  the  tariff  alone  steadily  and 
presistently  recurs  for  agitation,  and  for  what  is  called  settle- 
ment.     Thus  far  in  our  history,  settlement  has  only  been  the 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  355 

basis  of  new  agitation,  and  each  successive  agitation  leads 
again  to  new  settlement." 

Alexander  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  under  Gen- 
eral Washington's  administration,  submitted  his  celebrated 
report  on  manufiictures  to  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
answer  to  its  request  of  December,  1790.  This  report  sus- 
tained and  elaborated  in  a  masterly  manner  never  since  sur- 
passed, the  argument  in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff^ 

"Mr.  Hamilton  sustained  the  plan  of  encouraging  home 
manufactures  by  protective  duties,  even  to  the  point  in  some 
instances  of  making  those  'duties  equivalent  to  prohibition.' 
He  did  not  contemplate  a  prohibitive  duty  as  the  means  of 
encouraging  a  manufacture  not  already  domesticated,  but  de- 
clared it  '  only  fit  to  be  employed  when  a  manufacture  has 
made  such  a  progress,  and  is  in  so  many  hands,  as  to  insure  a 
due  competition  and  an  adequate  supply  on  reasonable  terms.' 
This  argument  did  not  seem  to  follow  the  beaten  path  which 
leads  to  the  protection  of  '  infant  manufactures,'  but  rather 
aimed  to  secure  the  home  market  for  the  strong  and  well  de- 
veloped enterprises." 

From  the  organization  of  the  government  in  1789,  to  the 
time  when  the  Republican  party  obtained  control  of  national 
affairs,  the  taritl^"  policy  of  Congress  was  vacillating  and  un- 
settled. Several  times  by  unwise  reductions  of  the  taritl', 
always  under  the  lead  or  the  compulsion  of  the  Democratic 
party,  severe  injury  was  inflicted  upon  the  prosperity  of  the 
people.  In  1857,  in  the  closing  session  of  Mr.  Pierce's  ad- 
ministration, Congress  enacted  what  has  since  been  known  as 
the  tariff"  of  1857. 


356  THE  RECORD  OF 

"  1>\'  this  law  the  duties  were  placed  lower  than  they  had 
been  at  any  time  since  the  War  of  1S12.  The  act  was  well 
received  by  the  people,  and  was,  indeed,  concurred  in  by  a 
considerable  proportion  of  the  Republican  party." 

It  is  instructive  to  note  that  the  seductive  appeals  to  New 
England  men  made  by  the  free  traders  in  1S57  on  the  subject 
of  free  raw  materials  had  far  greater  influence  upon  those  to 
whom  they  were  addressed  than  similar  appeals  to-day  have 
upon  the  puplic  opinion  of  New  England.  A  majority  of 
New  England  representatives  voted  for  the  low  tariff'  of  1857. 

"  It  was  an  extraordinary  political  combination  that  brought 
the  Senators  from  Massachusetts  and  the  Senators  from  South 
Carolina,  the  Representatives  of  New  England,  and  the  Rep- 
resentatives from  the  cotton  states  to  support  the  same  taritV 
bill  —  a  combination  which  had  not  before  occurred  since  the 
administration  of  Monroe.  The  singular  coalition  portended 
one  of  two  results  :  either  an  entire  and  permanent  acquiesc- 
ence in  the  rule  of  free-trade,  or  an  entire  abrogation  of  that 
system,  and  the  revival  w^ith  renewed  strength  of  the  doctrine 
of  protection.  Which  it  should  be  was  determined  by  the  un- 
folding of  events  not  then  foreseen,  and  the  force  of  which  it 
required  years  to  measure. 

"  The  one  excuse  given  for  urging  the  passage  of  the  act  of 
1857  was  that  under  the  tariff  of  1846  the  revenues  had  be- 
come excessive  and  the  income  of  the  government  must  be 
reduced.  But  it  was  soon  found  to  be  a  most  expensive 
mode  of  reaching  that  end.  The  first  and  most  important  re- 
sult flowing  from  the  new  act  was  a  large  increase  of  imj^or- 
tations,  and  a  very  heavy  drain   in  consequence    upon  the  re- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  357 

served  specie  of  the  country,  to  pay  the  balance  which  the 
reduced  shipments  of  agricultural  products  failed  to  meet.  In 
the  autumn  of  1857,  half  a  year  after  the  passage  of  the  tarifl' 
act,  a  disastrous  financial  panic  swept  over  the  country,  pros- 
trating for  the  time  all  departments  of  business  in  about  the  same 
degree.  The  agricultural,  commercial,  and  manufacturing  ' 
interests  were  alike  and  equally  involved.  The  distress  for  a 
time  was  severe  and  wide-spread.  The  stagnation  which  en- 
sued was  discouraging  and  long  continued,  making  the  years 
from  1857  to  1S60  extremely  dull  and  dispiriting  in  business 
circles  throughout  the  Union.  The  country  was  not  exhausted 
and  depleted  as  it  was  after  the  panic  of  iS37,but  the  business 
connnunity  had  no  courage,  energy  was  paralyzed,  and  new 
enterprises  were  at  a  stand  still.  It  soon  became  evident  that 
this  conditions  of  affairs  would  carry  the  tariff  question  once 
more  into  the  political  arena  as  an  active  issue  between  par- 
ties." .  .  .  "  The  convention  which  nominated  Mr.  Lin- 
coln met  when  the  feeling  against  free  trade  was  growing,  and 
in  many  states  already  deep-rooted.  A  majority  of  those  who 
composed  that  convention  had  inherited  their  political  creed 
from  the  Whig  party,  and  were  profourid  believers  in  the  pro- 
tective teachings  of  Mr.  Clay.  But  a  strong  minority  came 
from  the  radical  school  of  Democrats,  and,  in  joining  the  Re- 
publican party  on  the  anti-slavery  issue,  had  retained  their 
ancient  creed  on  financial  and  industrial  questions.  Care  was 
for  that  reason  necessary  in  the  introduction  of  new  issues  and 
the  imposition  of  new  tests  of  party  fellowship.  The  conven- 
tion therefore  avoided  the  use  of  the  word  '  protection,'  and  was 
contented  with  the  moderate  declaration   that  '  sound  policy 


358  THE  RECORD  OF 

requires  such  an  adjustment  of  imposts  as  will  encourage  the 
development  of  the  industrial  interests  of  the  whole  country.' 
A  more  enijjhatic  declaration  might  have  provoked  resistance 
from  a  minority  of  the  convention,  and  the  friends  of  protec- 
tion acted  wisely  in  accepting  what  was  offered  with  una- 
nimity, rather  than  continue  the  struggle  for  a  stronger  creed 
which  would  have  been  morally  weakened  by  party  division. 
They  saw  also  that  the  mere  form  of  expression  was  not  im- 
portant so  long  as  the-  convention  was  unanimous  on  what 
theologians  term  the  '  substance  of  doctrine.'  It  was  noted 
that  the  vast  crowd  which  attended  the  convention  cheered  the 
tariff  resolution  as  lustily  as  that  which  opposed  the  spread  of 
slavery  into  free  territory.  From  that  hour  the  Republican 
party  gravitated  steadily  and  rapidly  into  the  position  of 
avowed  advocacy  of  the  doctrine  of  protection." 

Mr.  Blaine  in  closing  the  tariff  chapter  contained  in  Vol.  I 
of  Txventy  Tears  of  Congi-ess  uses  the   following  language  : 

"In  the  foregoing  summary  of  legislation  upon  the  tarifl', 
the  terms  free  trade  and  protection  are  used  in  their  ordi- 
nary acceptation  in  this  country  ;  —  not  as  accurately  defining 
the  difference  in  revenue  theories,  but  as  indicating  the  rival 
policies  which  have  so  long  divided  political  parties.  Strictly 
speaking,  there  has  never  been  a  proposition  by  any  party  in 
the  L'nited  States  for  the  adoption  of  free  trade.  To  be  en- 
tirely free,  trade  must  encounter  no  obstruction  in  the  wa}'  ot 
tax,  either  upon  export  or  import.  In  that  sense  no  nation 
has  ever  enjoyed  free  trade.  As  contradistinguished  from  the 
theory  of  protection,  England  has  realized  freedom  of  trade  by 
taxing  only  that  class  of  imports  which   meet  no  competition 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  359 

in  home  production,  thus  excluding  all  pretense  of  favor  or 
advantage  to  any  of  her  domestic  industries.  England  came  to 
this  policy  after  liaving  clogged  and  embarrassed  trade  for  a 
long  period  by  the  most  unreasonable  and  tyrannical  restrictions 
ruthlessly  enforced,  without  regard  to  the  interests  or  even  the 
rights  of  others.  She  had  more  than  four  hundred  acts  of 
Parliament  regulating  the  tax  on  imports,  under  the  old 
designations  of  '  tonnage  and  poundage,'  adjusted,  as  the  phrase 
indicates,  to  heavy  and  light  commodities.  Beyond  these,  she 
had  a  cumbersome  system  of  laws  regulating  and  in  many 
cases  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  articles  which  might  teach 
to  other  nations  the  skill  by  which  she  had  herself  so  marvel- 
ously  prospered. 

"  When  by  long  experiment  and  persistent  effort  England 
had  carried  her  fabrics  to  perfection  ;  when  by  the  large  accu- 
mulation of  wealth  and  the  force  of  reserved  capital  she  could 
command  facilities  which  poorer  nations  could  not  rival ;  when 
by  the  talent  of  her  inventors,  developed  under  the  stimulus 
of  large  reward,  she  had  surpassed  all  other  countries  in  the 
magnitude  and  effectiveness  of  her  machinery,  she  proclaimed 
free  trade,  and  persuasively  ui-ged  it  upon  all  lands  with  which 
she  had  commercial  intercourse.  Maintaining  the  most  arbi- 
trary and  most  complicated  system  of  protection  so  long  as  her 
statesmen  considered  that  policy  advantageous,  she  resorted  to 
free-trade,  only  when  she  felt  able  to  invade  domestic  markets 
of  other  countries  and  undersell  the  fabrics  produced  by  strug- 
gling artisans  who  were  sustained  by  weaker  capital  and  by  less 
advanced  skill.  So  long  as  there  was  danger  that  her  own 
marts  might  be   invaded,  and  the  products   of  her  looms  and 


360  THE  RECORD  OF 

forges  undersold  at  home,  she  rigidly  excluded  the  competing 
fabric  and  held  her  own  market  for  her  own  wares. 

"  The  essential  question  which  has  grown  up  between  polit- 
ical parties  in  the  United  States  respecting  our  foreign  trade  is 
whether  a  duty  should  be  laid  upon  any  import  for  the  direct 
object  of  protecting  and  encouraging  the  manufacture  of  the 
same  article  at  home.  The  party  opposed  to  this  theory  does 
not  advocate  the  admission  of  the  article  free,  but  insists  upon 
such  rate  of  duty  as  will  produce  the  largest  revenue  and  at 
the  same  time  afford  what  is  termed  'incidental  protection.' 
The  advocates  of  actual  free  trade  according  to  the  policy  of 
England  —  taxing  only  those  articles  which  are  not  produced 
at  home  —  are  few  in  number,  and  are  principally  confined  to 
docti-hiaires.  The  instincts  of  the  masses  of  both  parties  are 
against  them.  But  the  nominal  free  trader  finds  it  very  difficult 
to  unite  the  largest  revenue  from  any  article  with  '  incidental 
protection  '  to  the  competing  product  at  home.  If  the  duty  be 
so  arranged  as  to  produce  the  greatest  amount  of  revenue,  it 
must  be  placed  at  that  point  where  the  foreign  article  is  able 
to  undersell  the  domestic  article  and  thus  command  the  market 
to  the  exclusion  of  competition.  This  result  goes  beyond  what 
the  so-called  American  fi*ee  trader  intends  in  practice,  l)ut  not 
beyond  what  he  implies  in  theory. 

"  The  American  protectionist  does  not  seek  to  evade  the  legit- 
imate results  of  his  theory.  He  starts  with  the  proposition 
that  whatever  is  manufactured  at  home  gives  work  and  wages 
to  our  own  people,  and  that  if  the  duty  is  even  put  so  Ingh  as 
to  prohibit  the  import  of  the  foreign  article,  the  competition  of 
home  producers  will,  according  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Hamilton, 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  361 

rapidly  reduce  the  price  to  tiie  consumer.  He  gives  numerous 
illustrations  of  articles  which,  under  the  influence  of  home 
competition,  have  fallen  in  price  below  the  point  at  which  th^ 
foreign  article  was  furnished  when  there  was  no  protection. 
The  free  trader  replies  that  the  fall  in  price  has  been  still 
greater  in  the  foreign  market,  and  the  protectionist  rejoins  that 
the  reduction  was  made  to  compete  with  the  American 
product,  and  that  the  former  price  would  probably  have  been 
maintained  so  long  as  the  importer  had  the  monopoly  of  our 
market.  Thus  our  protective  tarift'  reduced  the  price  in  both 
countries.  This  has  notably  been  the  result  with  respect  to 
steel  rails,  the  production  of  which  in  America  has  reached  a 
magnitude  surpassing  that  of  England.  Meanwhile  rails  have 
largely  fallen  in  price  to  the  consumer.  The  home  manufoct- 
ure  has  disbursed  countless  millions  of  money  among  Ameri- 
can laborers,  and  has  added  largely  to  our  industrial  independ- 
ence and  to  the  wealth  of  the  country.  While  many  fabrics 
have  fallen  to  as  low  a  price  in  the  United  States  as  elsewhere, 
it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  articles  of  clothing  and  household 
use,  metals  and  machinery,  are,  on  an  average,  higher  than  in 
Europe.  The  difference  is  due  in  large  degree  to  the  wao-es 
paid  to  labor,  and  thus  the  question  of  reducing  the  tariff' cra- 
ries  with  it  the  very  serious  problem  of  a  reduction  in  the  pay 
of  the  artisan  and  the  operative.  This  involves  so  many  grave 
considerations  that  no  party  is  prepared  to  advocate  it  openly. 
Free  traders  do  not,  and  apparently  dare  not,  face  the  plain 
truth — which  is  that  the  lowest  priced  fabric  means  the  lowest 
priced  labor. 

"  On   this  point    protectionists  are    more   frank  than   their 


362  THE  RECORD  OF 

opponents ;  they  realize  that  it  constitutes  indeed  the  most 
impregnable  defense  of  their  school.  Free  traders  have  at 
times  attempted  to  deny  the  truth  of  the  statement  ;  but  every 
impartial  investigation  thus  tar  has  conclusively  pro\  ed  that 
labor  is  better  paid,  and  the  average  condition  of  the  laboring 
man  more  comfortable  in  the  United  States  than  in  any  Euro- 
pean country. 

"  An  adjustment  of  the  protective  duty  to  the  point  which 
represents  the  average  difference  between  wages  of  labor  in 
Europe  and  in  America,  will,  in  the  judgment  of  protectionists, 
always  prove  impracticable.  The  diflerence  cannot  be  regu- 
lated by  a  scale  of  averages,  because  it  is  constantl\-  subject  to 
arbitrary  changes.  If  the  duty  be  adjusted  on  that  basis  for 
any  given  date,  a  reduction  of  wages  would  at  once  be  en- 
forced abroad,  and  the  American  manufacturer  would  in  con- 
sequence be  driven  to  the  desperate  choice  of  surrendering  the 
home  market  or  reducing  the  pay  of  workmen.  The  theory 
of  protection  is  not  answered  ;  nor  can  its  realization  be  at- 
tained by  any  such  device.  Protection  in  the  perfection  of  its 
design,  as  descril)ed  In'  I\Ir.  Hamilton,  docs  not  invite  compe- 
tition from  abroad,  but  is  based  on  the  controlling  piinciple 
that  competition  at  home  will  always  prevent  monopol}' on  the 
part  of  the  capitalist,  assure  good  wages  to  the  laborer,  and 
defend  the  consumer  against  the  evils  of  extortion. 

"  The  assailants  of  protection  apparently  overlook  the  fact 
that  excessive  production  is  due,  both  in  England  and  in 
America,  to  causes  beyond  the  operation  of  duties  either  liigh 
or  low.  No  cause  is  more  potent  than  the  prodigious  capacity 
of  machinery  set  in  motion  by  the  agency  of  steam.      It  is  as- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  363 

serted  by  an  intelligent  economist  that,  if  performed  by  hand,  the 
work  done  bv  machinery  in  Great  Britain  would  require  700- 
000,000  of  men,  —  a  far  larger  number  of  adults  than  inhabit  the 
globe.  It  is  not  strange  that,  with  this  vast  enginery,  the 
power  to  produce  has  a  constant  tendency  to  outrun  the  power 
to  consume.  Protectionists  find  in  this  a  conclusive  argument 
against  surrendering  the  domestic  market  of  the  United  States 
to  the  control  of  the  British  capitalists,  whose  power  of  produc- 
tion has  no  apparent  limit.  When  the  harmonious  adjustment 
of  international  trade  shall  ultimately  be  established  by  *  the 
parliament  of  man  '  in  '  the  federation  of  the  world,'  the  power 
of  production  and  the  power  of  consumption  will  properly 
balance  each  other  ;  but  in  traversing  the  long  road  and  endur- 
ing the  painful  process  by  which  that  end  shall  be  reached,  the 
protectionist  claims  that  his  theory  of  revenue  preserves  the 
newer  nations  from  being  devoured  by  the  older,  and  offers  to 
human  labor  a  shield  against  the  exactions  of  capital." 

The  tariff  question  has  been  slowly  returning  to  its  old 
prominence  in  political  discussion  ever  since  the  war  closed  in 
1S65.  There  have  been  several  complete  or  partial  revisions 
of  the  tariff'  since  the  war.  We  are  not  under  the  war  tariff" 
now.  In  1882  a  tariff"  commission  appointed  by  President 
Arthur,  in  accordance  with  an  act  of  Congress,  made  an  ex- 
haustive inquiry  into  the  relation  of  the  industries  of  the 
country  to  the  tariff',  and  in  1883,  following  the  report  of  the 
tariff"  commission,  a  general  revision  of  the  tariff'  was  made 
by  which  the  duties  upon  nearly  all  the  imports  were  consider- 
ably reduced.  The  wisdom  of  this  reduction  was  disputed  by 
the  strong  protectionists  in  Congress,  and  the  result  has  justified 


364  THE  RECORD  OF 

their  opposition.  Excessive  importations  have  affected  un- 
favorably certain  industries  and  the  revenue  of  the  government 
has  correspondingly  increased.  Mr.  Blaine  well  knowing  that 
the  tariff  would  inevitably  come  before  the  country  during  the 
administration  of  the  government  from  1SS5  to  1889,  when  the 
nominee  of  the  Republican  party  for  President  in  1884,  both 
by  his  letter  of  acceptance  and  afterwards  in  public  addresses, 
discussed  the  tariff  question  in  the  frankest  manner,  presenting 
honestly  and  clearly  the  doctrine  of  protection  to  American  in- 
dustry, in  which  he  and  his  party  believed.  Grover  Cleveland, 
on  the  other  hand,  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  made  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  tariff,  and  he  implied  by  the  words,  "  It  should 
be  remembered  that  the  office  of  President  is  essentially  execu- 
tive in  its  nature,"  that  he  should  have  no  personal  policy  on 
the  subject. 

Had  he  avowed  in  the  campaign  the  opinions  he  has  since 
declared,  had  it  been  understood  by  all  that  the  leading  feature 
of  his  administration  would  be  the  enforcement,  by  the  influ- 
ence and  patronage  of  the  presidential  office,  upon  the  Demo- 
cratic party  of  the  policy  of  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,  with 
merely  incidental  protection,  and  that  in  a  small  degree  —  Mr. 
Cleveland  would  have  been  overwhelmingly  defeated.  From 
the  beginning  of  the  present  administration  efforts  have  been 
making  with  the  approval  and  under  the  lead  of  the  President 
to  bring-  about  a  general  reduction  of  tlie  tariff'.  Unmindful  of 
the  rebuke  administered  by  the  people  in  the  congressional 
elections  of  1SS6,  when  the  Democratic  majority  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  was  so  nearly  wiped  out,  and  Morrison  and 
other  free  traders   defeated,  Mr.  Cleveland  in  his  message  to 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  365 

Congress  in  December,  1887,  startled  the  Nation  and  attracted 
the  attention  of  Europe  by  a  vigorous  attack  upon  the  protect- 
ive system.  Ambitious  for  a  reelection  to  the  presidency, 
Mr.  Cleveland  deliberately  determined  to  force  upon  the  Dem- 
ocratic party  its  ancient  creed  upon  the  tariff.  It  was,  indeed, 
impossible  to  avoid  meeting  this  issue.  Mr.  Blaine,  in  the 
campaign  for  Governor  Beaver's  election  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1886,  pointed  out  that  as  it  would  be  some  years  before  the 
government  would  have  the  option  of  making  further  pay- 
ments upon  the  public  debt,  there  would  soon  be  a  dangerous 
accumulation  of  surplus  money  in  the  national  treasury,  that 
reduction  of  revenue  would  be  absolutely  necessary,  and  that 
we  should  be  brought  face  to  face  with  the  sharpest  tariff"  crisis 
in  our  history.  Another  general  reduction  of  the  tariff  upon 
protected  articles,  if  such  reduction  were  only  moderate,  would 
doubtless  have  the  effect  of  so  stimulating  importations  as  to 
still  further  increase  the  surplus.  President  Cleveland  in  his 
message  thus  speaks  of  the  surplus  and  its  dangers:  "The 
public  treasury,  which  should  only  exist  as  a  conduit,  convey- 
ing the  people's  tribute  to  its  legitimate  objects  of  expenditure, 
becomes  a  hoarding  place  for  money  needlessly  withdrawn 
from  ti'ade  and  the  people's  use,  thus  crippling  our  national 
energies,  suspending  our  country's  development,  preventing 
investment  in  productive  enterprises,  threatening  financial  dis- 
turbance, and  inviting  schemes  of  public  plunder." 

The  President  anticipated  that  by  the  30th  of  June,  1888, 
the  accumulation  of  surplus  in  the  Treasury  would  reach 
$140,000,000.  This  surplus  would  not  have  been  so  alarm- 
ingly great  had  Mr.  Cleveland  and  the  Democratic  party  in 


3^)6      •    .  THE  RECORD  OF 

Congress  been  willing  to  consent  that  certain  just  and  judicious 
expenditures  should  have  been  made  —  for  pensions  for  needy 
soldiers  of  the  Republic  ;  for  public  buildings  in  many  towns 
where  they  are  needed  ;  for  coast  fortifications,  and  for  the  edu- 
cation of  the  children  in  the  vSouthern  States.  Condemning 
all  proposals  for  the  expenditure  of  the  surplus  the  President 
proceeded  to  discuss  the  means  by  which  the  public  revenues 
could  be  reduced. 

The  internal  revenue  taxes  levied  upon  the  comsumption  of 
tobacco  and  spirituous  and  malt  liquors,  he  considered  to  be 
not  burdensome  to  the  people.  The  President  then  proceeded 
to  recommend  that  reduction  in  revenue  be  accomplished  by 
reducing  the  duties  levied  upon  imported  articles,  including 
especially  those  coming  into  direct  competition  with  the 
products  of  our  own  labor.     We  quote  from  the  message  : 

"  But  our  present  tarifl"  laws  —  the  vicious,  inequitable,  and 
illogical  source  of  unnecessary  taxation  —  ought  to  be  at  once 
revised  and  amended.  These  laws,  as  their  primary  and  plain 
ertect,  raise  the  price  to  consumers  of  all  articles  imported  and 
subject  to  duty,  by  precisely  the  sum  paid  for  such  duties. 

''  Thus  the  amount  of  the  duty  measures  the  tax  paid  by  those 
who  purchase  for  use  these  imported  articles.  Many  of  these 
things,  however,  are  raised  or  manufactincd  in  our  own  coun- 
try, and  the  duties  now  levied  upon  foreign  goods  and 
products  are  called  protection  to  these  home  manufactures, 
because  they  render  it  possible  for  those  of  our  people  who 
are  manufacturers,  to  m.ake  these  taxed  articles,  and  sell  them 
for  a  price  equal  to  that  demanded  for  the  imported  goods  that 
have  paid  customs  duty.     So   it  happens  that  while  compara- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  367 

tively  a  tew  use  the  imported  articles,  millions  of  our  people, 
who  never  use  and  never  saw  any  of  these  foreign  products, 
purchase  and  use  things  of  the  same  kind  made  in  this  coim- 
try,  and  pay  therefore  nearly  or  quite  the  same  enhanced  price 
which  the  duty  adds  to  the  imported  articles.  Those  who  buy 
imports  pay  the  duty  charged  thereon  into  the  public  Treasury, 
but  the  great  majority  of  our  citizens  who  buy  domestic  ar- 
ticles of  the  same  class,  pay  a  sum  at  least  approximately  equal 
to  this  duty  to  the  home  manufacturer." 

The  message  contains  many  such  paragraphs  as  that  quoted, 
the  intention  evidently  being  to  represent  the  protective  system 
in  an  odious  light,  and  convince  the  people  that  it  is  a  burden, 
Mr.  Cleveland  indeed  disclaims  being  a  free  trader,  but  his 
message  is  filled  from  beginning  to  end  with  the  stock  argu- 
ments of  the  free  traders,  the  fallacy  of  which  the  common 
sense  of  the  people  easily  detects.  The  gross  blunder  into 
which  Mr.  Cleveland  falls  when  he  says  that  the  price  of  an 
article  of  domestic  production  is  enhanced  by  precisely  the 
same  amount  as  the  duty  levied  upon  the  same  article  when 
imported,  exposes  him  to  the  ridicule  of  all  intelligent  persons. 

Mr.  Cleveland  holds  up  before  the  protected  industries  the 
threat  that  if  they  do  not  now  consent  to  a  reduction  of  pro- 
tective duties  they  will  in  the  end  fare  worse.  His  language  of 
warning  is  :  "  Opportunity  for  safe,  careful,  and  deliberate  re- 
form is  now^  ottered,  and  none  of  us  should  be  unmindful  of  a 
time  when  an  aroused  and  irritated  people,  heedless  of  those 
who  have  resisted  timely  and  reasonable  relief,  may  insist  upon 
a  radical  and  sweeping  rectification  of  their  wrongs." 

Mr.  Cleveland  especially  recommended  the  "  radical  reduc- 


368  TJIK  RF.CORD  OF 

tionof  the  duties  imposed  upon  raw  material  used  in  manufact- 
ures, or  its  free  importation."  Especially  he  suggested  the 
removal  of  the  duty  upon   wool. 

The  only  "aroused  and  irritated  people"  heard  from  since 
the  message  are  the  people  of  the  wool  manufacturing  state  of 
Rhode  Island,  and  the  people  of  the  wool  growing  state  of 
Oregon,  condemning  by  Republican  majorities  the  tariff'  pro- 
posals of  the  President. 

The  position  of  the  Republicans  on  the  raw  material  ques- 
tion is  well  stated  in  a  speech  by  Congressman  McKinley,  of 
Ohio,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  April  30,  1S84  : 

' '  Free  raw  material  has  nothing  to  commend  it  to  legisla- 
tive favor  which  is  not  common  to  every  other  American 
product.  The  same  necessity  for  protection,  within  reasona- 
ble limits,  applies  to  what  are  commonly  called  raw  materials 
as  to  the  finished  or  more  advanced  manufactures.  There  is; 
no  such  thing  as  raw^  materials  distinguished  from  other  prod- 
ucts of  labor.  Labor  enters  into  all  productions,  the  common- 
est as  well  as  the  highest  forms.  The  ore  costs  something  to 
mine  it ;  the  coal,  to  take  it  from  the  ground  ;  the  stone,  to 
cjuarry  it ;  much  labor  enters  into  the  production  of  wool  ; 
leather  costs  something  to  tan  ;  and  to  the  extent  that  labor 
enters  into  their  preparation,  what  are  usually  termed  raw  mate- 
rials should  have  ratable  protection  with  the  completed 
product.  Pig-iron  is  the  raw  material  for  bar-iron,  and  yet 
no  one  has  been  heard  to  advocate  free  pig-iron.  Cloth  is  the 
raw  material  for  the  tailor,  the  finest  steel  is  the  crude  material 
of  the  watchmaker,  and  so  on  interminably.  There  can  be 
no  just  line  drawn,  and  no  reason  exists  for  such  a  discrimina- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  369 

tion.     When  the  country  is  read}-  for  free  trade  let  us  have  it 
in  all  thi^igs  without  exception  or  restriction." 

Considering  that  the  wool  growing  states  ha\'e  much  more 
political  power  in  the  Union  than  the  wool  manufacturing 
states,  the  proposal  to  abolish  all  protection  on  wool  while  re- 
taining protection,  although  insufficient,  on  cloth,  is  a  most 
extraordinary  one.  Free  wool  means  free  cloth,  and  either  or 
both  mean  the  prostration  of  the  American  people. 

The  claim  of  the  Democratic  party  is  that  the  agricultural 
sections  of  the  country  are  oppressed  by  the  tariff^,  and  that 
the  American  farmer  can  rely  upon  a  foreign  market  for  his 
food  products.  This  claim  is  answered  by  Mr.  McKinley  in 
the  speech  already  quoted  from  : 

"  It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  it  was  infinitely  better 
that  the  farmer  should  have  a  market  at  home,  a  market  at  his 
very  door,  than  to  be  compelled  to  seek  a  market  in  distant 
countries  and  among  distant  populations.  As  long  as  there  is 
a  demand  at  home  it  is  a  self-evident  proposition  that  it  is  bet- 
ter than  to  seek  consumers  abroad,  and  that  the  home  demand 
is  safer,  more  reliable,  and  more  profitable  than  any  foreign 
market  can  possibly  be.  American  buyers  are  the  best  in  the 
world."  He  did  not  tell  the  committee  what  is  the  fact,  that 
ninety  per  cent,  of  the  food  products  of  the  United  States  is 
consumed  at  home,  and  that  only  about  ten  per  cent,  has  to 
find  a  market  abroad. 

It  is  not  competition  with   Evn-o|5e  only  which  tariff  reduc- 
tion invites,  but  in  the  near  future  with  India  and  China.     A 
prominent  American  in  a  public  speech  in  the  year  1885  de- 
clared : 
Zk 


370  THE  RECORD  OF 

"  India  and  China  are  learning  more  than  the  lessons  of  war 
from  Europe.  They  are  learning  the  uses  of  machinery  ;  both 
have  coal  and  iron  ;  both  can  produce  wool  and  cotton,  and 
India  o-rows  wheat.  China  has  just  now  contracted  with  an 
American  firm  to  work  its  coal  mines  —  rich,  but  undeveloped. 
India  already  has  ten  thousand  miles  of  railway,  with  cotton 
factories  and  iron  mills.  India  with  250,000,000  and  China 
with  400,000,000  of  population,  with  their  workers  often 
living  on  a  shilling  a  day  or  less,  and  with  their  cheap  labor, 
will  become  not  only  competitors  of  England  but  all  other 
nations.  It  would  be  poor  statesmanship  if,  by  a  blind  adher- 
ence to  a  phantom  policy,  American  labor  should  ever,  for 
any  reason,  be  brought  into  competition  with  that  of  India  and 
China.  Foreign  markets  may  afford  temporary  relief  for  com- 
mercial depression  and  low  wages,  but  they  cannot  settle  the 
principle  upon  which  wealth  may  be  better  distributed  and 
wages  kept  above  the  cost  of  living.  It  will  not  do  to  depend 
upon  any  external  agency.  The  disease  is  within  ;  the  fault 
grows  out  of  the  existing  industrial  system." 

The  Repul:)lican  protectionists  maintain  these  propositions  : 

I .  Diversity  in  national  industry  is  essential  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  high  civilization. 

3.  Local  centres,  wliich  manufactures  widely  spread  build 
up,  are  essential  to  the  prosperity  and  the  liappiness  of  the 
people. 

1.  The  power  of  association  is  developed  among  men  by 
diversity  of  industry  and  local  centres,  and  this  power  is  what 
gives  to  man  command  over  the  forces  of  nature. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 


371 


4.  Domestic  manufactures  cheapen  prices.  "  Dear  bouglit 
and  far  fetched,"  is  an  old  and  true  maxim. 

5.  The  home  market  is  the  best  market.  Under  the  pre- 
sent tariff  we  do  not  control  entirely  our  home  market,  we 
ought  to  obtain  control  of  that  before  thinking  of  the  conquest 
of  foreign  markets. 

6.  The  reduction  of  the  tariff'  means  a  reduction  of  wages 
of  American  woikmen  greater  than  any  possible  increase  in 
the  purchasing  power  of  their  wages  ;  and  a  fall  in  prices  in 
this  country  resulting  from  tariff'  and  wage  reduction,  means 
the  ruin  of  the  debtor  class  of  the  country. 

7.  The  tariff'  shoiffd  be  revised  by  those  who  understand 
and  believe  in  the  protective  system. 


Chapter  III. 


THE  MILLS  BILL,  AND  THE  SURPLUS  AND 
WHISKEY  TAX  QUESTIONS. 

ASCENDANCY  OF  THE  FREE  TRADE  DEMOCRATS  —  THE  MILLS  BILL  — 
ITS  PASSAGE  IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  —  THE  WOOL 
qUESTION  —  THREATENED  PROSTRATION  OF  INDUSTRIES  —  UN- 
WISE   POLICY    OF   THE   COTTON    INTEREST  MINNESOTA    AND    THE 

TARIFF  —  THE  MILLS  BILL  NOT  A  MEASURE  FOR  THE  REDUCTION 
OF  THE  SURPLUS  —  SUGAR  TARIFF  —  TRUSTS  —  THE  REPUBLICAN 
PLAN   FOR    REDUCING    THE    SURPLUS  —  THE   WHISKEY   TAX. 

From  the  day  of  Grover  Cleveland's  election,  the  influence 
in  the  Democratic  party  of  Mr.  Randall  and  other  Democratic 
protectionists  has  been  waning,  and  the  ascendancy  of  Mr. 
Carlisle,  Mr.  Morrison,  and  other  free  traders  has  been  grow- 
ing. Speaker  Carlisle  organized  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee of  the  first  Congress  in  Mr.  Cleveland's  administration 
in  the  interest  of  free  trade,  and  ISIr.  Morrison,  die  chairman, 
pushed  to  a  vote  a  bill  making  a  horizontal  reduction  of  twenty 
per  centum  in  most  of  the  tariff'  schedules.  The  Con- 
gressional elections  of  i8S6  showed  some  reaction  against  the 
Democratic  part>',  and  Mr.  Morrison  himself  was  defeated  for 
reelection  on  the  tariff'  issue.  But  the  Ways  and  Means  Com- 
mittee of  the  second  Congress  of  this  administration  which 
met  in  December,  1SS7,  was  organized  by  Mr.  Carlisle,  re- 
elected speaker,  in  the  same  interest,  and  Roger  C^.  Mills,  of 
Texas,  a  radical  free  trader,  was  made  chairman.     The  abso- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  373 

lute  control  of  the  committee  was  given  to  the  cotton  planting 
interest.  The  committee  proceeded  in  the  preparation  of  a 
tariti*  bill  in  the  most  arbitrary  and  unprecedented  manner, 
Mr.  McKinley,  in  presenting  the  minority  report  of  the 
committee  to  the  House,  says  : 

"If  any  consultations  were  held  the  minority  was  excluded. 
Thus  originating,  after  three  months  of  the  session  had  gone, 
it  was  submitted  to  the  committee.  Since,  there  has  been  no 
consideration  of  it.  Every  eftbrt  upon  the  part  of  the  minority 
to  obtain  from  the  majority  the  facts  and  information  upon 
which  they  constructed  the  bill  proved  unavailing. 

"  The  industries  of  the  country,  located  in  every  section  of  the 
Union,  representing  vast  interests  closely  related  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  country,  touching  practically  every  home  and  fire- 
side in  the  land,  and  which  were  to  be  affected  by  the  bill, 
were  denied  a  hearing." 

The  majority  of  the  committee  reported  a  bill  reducing  the 
duties  upon  nearly  all  classes  of  manufactures,  and  placing 
upon  the  free  list  wool,  salt,  lumber,  and  certain  other  prod- 
ucts of  the  country,  commonly  called  by  Free  Traders  "  raw 
materials."  The  greatest  tariff' debate  in  our  history  has  been 
had  in  the  House  upon  this  bill.  Some  amendments  were 
made  by  the  Democrats  increasing  the  duties  fixed  by  the  bill 
in  cases  where  Democratic  influences  were  brought  to  bear  in 
favor  of  protected  industries  located  in  states  whose  vote  in 
the  presidential  election  was  doubtful.  Finally,  on  July  21, 
1 888,  the  Mills  Tariff'  Bill  passed  the  House  by  a  majority  of 
thirteen  votes.    Only  two  Representatives,  elected  as  Republi- 


374  THE  RECORD  OF 

cans,  voted  for  the  bill  —  Mr.  Fitch,  of  New  York,  who  has 
already  entered  the  Democratic  party,  and  the  Honorable 
Knute  Nelson,  of  Minnesota. 

Four  Democrats  only  voted  against  the  bill,  but  Samuel  J. 
Randall  would  have  voted  against  it  had  he  not  been  prevented 
by  illness  from  being  present  in  the  House.  The  corner- 
stone of  the  bill  is  free  wool.  The  opponents  of  the  protect- 
ive system,  despairing  of  successful  direct  attack  upon  the  pro- 
tective system  as  a  whole,  have  undertaken  to  turn  the  flank  of 
the  tariff'  by  assailing  the  protection  long  aftbrded  to  sheep 
husbandry.  The  wool  growers,  although  numbering  more 
than  one  million  voters,  are  not  as  a  class  possessed  of  the 
wealth  or  influence  of  manufacturers,  and  are  mainly  located 
in  Republican  states.  The  design  of  the  Democrats  is  to 
secure  by  the  ofler  of  free  wool,  the  support  of  the  manufact- 
uring states  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Connecticut,  Rliode 
Island,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hampshire,  and  having  thus 
planted  the  seeds  of  discord  between  the  East  and  the  West, 
to  afterwards,  with  the  aid  of  the  West,  accomplish  the 
destruction  of  the  protective  system.  Indeed,  the  free-listing 
of  wool  involves  the  abandonment  of  the  principle  of  protec- 
tion. 

Since  Mr.  Cleveland  and  his  party  have  chosen  to  wage  the 
battle  on  wool,  let  us  examine  somewhat  the  subject  of  the 
wool  tar  ill'. 

I.  The  present  tarifl'divides  wool  into  three  classes  :  cloth- 
ing wools,  combing  wools,  and  carpet  wools.  Upon  clothing 
and  combing  wf)ols  a  duty  is  le\ic(l  ;   if  the   value  at  the   place 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  375 

whence  exported  to  the  United  States  shall  be  30  cents  or  less 
per  pound,  of  10  cents  per  pound  ;  if  such  value  shall  exceed  30 
cents  per  pound,  the  duty  is  12  cents  per  pound.  Upon  car- 
pet wools  is  levied  a  duty  of  3  1-2  or  5  cents  per  pound,  accord- 
ing to  the  value.  The  duties  on  all  classes  of  wool  were  con- 
siderably reduced  in  1SS3,  when  the  tariff'  was  last  revised, 
greatly  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  wool  growers,  who  have 
ever  since  striven  to  secure  a  restoration  of  the  former  rates  of 
duty.  A  large  reduction  in  the  number  of  sheep  and  the  wool 
clip  has  resulted  from  the  reduction  in  the  wool  tariff',  showing 
how  vain  is  the  hope  that  with  wool  on  the  free  list  wool 
growing  could  survive  in  the  United  States.  The  present 
tariff'  imposes  a  specific  duty  upon  woolen  manufactures  of 
from  10  to  35  cents  per  pound,  and  in  addition  thereto  an  ad 
valorem  duty  of  either  35  or  40  per  centum,  varying  with  the 
kind  and  value  of  the  goods.  The  duties  upon  woolen  manu- 
factures were  slightly  reduced  by  the  revision  of  1883. 
Increased  importation  of  woolens  has  resulted.  The  importa- 
tions of  wool  in  1882  were  63,016,769  pounds  ;  in  18S7,  114,- 
404,174  pounds.  The  duty  collected  in  1SS3  was  $3,854,- 
653. iS;  that  in  1SS7,  $5,899,816.63. 

2.  The  Mills  Bill  abolishes  all  specific  duties  (the  only 
duties  that  cannot  be  evaded  by  under-valuations)  on  woolens 
and  fixes  a  duty  of  forty  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  This  is  on 
most  classes  and  on  the  largest  quantitv  an  increase  of  five  per 
cent,  upon  the  present  ad  valorem  duty,  which  is  in  most  cases 
thirty-five  per  cent.  When  the  specific  and  ad  valorem  duties 
upon  wool  and  woolens  were  established  by  the  tariff' of  1S67, 
after  full  consultation  and  ag^reement  between  the  wool  growers 


37^  THE  RECORD  OF 

and  the  manufacturers,  and  again  when  these  duties  were 
readjusted  in  18S3,  it  was  upon  the  distinctly  avowed  phm  that 
the  specific  cUitles  on  woolens  were  intended  as  compensatory 
merely  to  the  manufacturer  for  the  duty  levied  on  foreign 
wools,  and  the  specific  rates  were  nicely  adjusted  to  this  end, 
while  the  ad  valorem  duty  of  thirty-five  per  cent,  (in  a  few  cases 
forty  per  cent.)  was  intended  as  favoring  or  strictly  protective 
to  the  manufiicturer.  So  that  the  Mills  Bill  by  increasing  the 
ad  valorem  duty  from  thirty-five  to  forty  per  cent.,  professes  to 
give  an  additional  favor  to  the'  manufacturer,  the  duties  on 
wool  and  specific  duties  on  cloth  being  abolished  together.  It 
is  openly  claimed  by  the  organs  of  the  free-wool  manufacturers 
that  the  Mills  Bill  is  in  their  favor. 

3.  It  is  claimed  by  the  Democrats  and  by  the  free-wool 
New  England  manufacturers  that  the  effect  of  free  wool  will 
be  to  cheapen  woolens  to  the  consumer,  to  maintain  wages  of 
workers  in  woolen  mills  while  increasing  their  purchasing 
power,  and  that  no  harm  will  result  to  the  American  wool 
grower. 

4.  It  is  claimed  by  the  tariff' reducers  that  trusts  or  combi- 
nations of  manufacturers  are  formed  for  the  purpose  of  extort- 
ing from  the  people  monopoly  prices,  and  that  these  trusts  are 
protected  in  their  extortion  because  so  largely  given  a  monopoly 
of  the  home  market  by  the  tariff,  that  the  only  way  to  get  fair 
prices  is  to  admit  foreign  competition  more  freely.  It  is  hard 
to  see,  if  this  claim  be  true,  how  prices  are  to  be  reduced  to 
consumers  of  woolens,  for  the  claim  is  that  the  protection  of 
manufacturers  of  woolens  has  been  fully  preseryed,  and  even 
increased  by  the  Mills  Bill.     Whether  the  price  of  wool  fell  or 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  377 

not,  the  manufacturers  could  still  take  advantage  of  the  tariff 
of  forty  per  cent,  and  plunder  the  consumers  by  combination. 
However,  the  wool  growers  are  distinctly  and  loudly  told  by 
the  Democrats  and  free-wool  manufacturers  that  the  price  of 
wool  will  not  fall,  that  the  protective  duties  have  already 
lowered  the  price  of  wool,  and  that  by  permitting  the  free  im- 
portation of  foreign  wools  of  the  finest  grade  needed  to  mix 
with  American  wools,  manufacturing  will  be  so  stimulated  as 
to  create  a  better  and  more  remunerative  market  for  American 
wool.  If  this  claim  is  true,  the  fact,  in  connection  with  the 
forty  per  cent,  duty,  will  certainly  prevent  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction of  all  woolens,  except,  possibly,  a  few  classes  of  the 
finest  and  highest-priced  goods  worn  by  the  rich,  from  being 
lessened. 

So  the  Mills  Bill,  according  to  the  theory  of  its  friends,  will 
not  give  to  the  wage-earners  and  the  farmers  the  promised 
boon  of  cheaper  clothing. 

5.  The  real  effect  of  free-listing  wool  upon  the  wool 
growers,  will  be  to  destroy  as  if  by  magic  the  business  of  wool 
growing  in  the  United  States.  Under  the  present  reduced 
tariff',  the  number  of  our  sheep  fell  off' from  50,620,626  in  1S84, 
to  44,759,344  in  1887,  with  a  corresponding  reduction  in  the 
wool  clip  from  308,000,000  pounds  in  1884,  to  265,000,000  in 
1887,  a  shrinkage  of  43,000,000  pounds,  while  importations 
increased. 

6.  The  first  effect  of  free  wool  upon  the  price  of  wool  will 
be  to  reduce  it  considerably  in  price  but  not  to  the  level  of 
present  European  prices,  for  increased  importations  into  this 
country  will  somewhat  raise  the  price  of  wool   in  European 


378  THE  RECORD  OF 

markets.  The  increase  of  price  of  wool  in  Europe  by  slightly 
raising  the  cost  of  European  manufacture  will  assist  the  Amer- 
ican manufacturer  in  maintaining  prices.  There  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that  free  wool  manufacturers  believe  their  profits 
will  be  increased. 

The  secondary  effect  of  free  wool  upon  the  price  of  wool 
will  be  to  place  American  manufacturers  at  the  mercy  of 
European  combinations  controlling  the  Australian  and  vSouth 
American  wool  clip,  and  to  increase  the  price  in  a  very  few 
years  to  a  figure  above  that  paid  at  present.  As  soon  as  the 
American  Congress  abandons  the  wool-growing  interest,  which 
should  be  cherished  as  the  apple  of  our  eye,  European  policy 
grasping  for  our  market  will  be  devoted  to  cornering  against 
lis  the  wool  grown  under  the  flags  of  our  rivals,  and  compelling 
us  to  import  our  wool  in  the  form  of  clotli,  thus  giving  the 
profit  of  the  fabric  to  Europe.  The  money  that  woolen  man- 
ufacturers in  the  United  States  make,  because  of  free  wool,  they 
must  make  quickly,  for  the  foreign  monopolist  will  avenge  the 
wrongs  of  the  American  wool  grower.  We  already  produce 
the  greater  part  of  tlie  clothing  wool  consumed  by  our  people, 
and  with  adequate  protection  to  wool  and  woolens  can  easily 
produce  all  that  is  now  or  ever  can  be  consumed  ;  and  our 
American  wools  are  as  durable  as  any  in  the  world  and  among 
the  finest. 

7.  Free  wool  will  soon  be  followed  by  a  sharp  reduction  of 
the  duty  upon  foreign  woolens.  The  Western  farmers  sacri- 
ficed in  the  matter  of  their  wpol  upon  the  altar  of  selfishness, 
and  experiencing  no  reduction  in  the  price  of  woolens,  will 
swiftly  unite  with  the  deadly  foes   of  American    manufactures, 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  379 

the  Democratic  cotton  planters  of  the  South,  and  strike  a  fatal 
blow  at  the  woolen  industry  of  New  England  and  the  East, 
and  the  striking  of  this  blow  would  not  be  long  delayed.  Mr. 
Mills,  in  his  report  to  the  House,  says  of  his  bill  : 

"  The  bill  herewith  reported  to  the  House  is  not  offered  as 
a  perfect  bill.  Many  articles  are  left  subject  to  duty  which 
might  well  be  transferred  to  the  free  list.  Many  articles  are 
left  subject  to  rates  of  duty  which  might  well  be  lessened." 

The  country  has  fair  warning  from  our  Bourbon  masters 
that  the  Mills  Bill  is  only  the  entering  wedge  of  free  trade. 
The  object  of  the  Southern  tariff'  reducers  in  touching  the 
tariff'is  to  obtain  for  the  South  cheaper  clothing  and  supplies. 
They  do  not  expect  the  free  listing  of  wool  to  reduce  the  price 
of  cloth,  but  they  do  expect  to  strip  the  manufacturer  of  his 
political  defenses,  so  that  he  can  shortly  be  immolated  on  the 
altar  of  sacrifice  he  has  helped  to  build. 

8.  The  final  result  of  free  wool  will  be,  unless  a  political 
revolution  not  so  ea^ly  accomplished  takes  place,  that  wool 
growing  and  wool  manufacturing  will  become  lost  arts  in  the 
United  States. 

9.  If  the  Mills  Bill  contained  no  other  changes  than  those 
in  the  wool  and  woolen  duties,  a  few  woolen  manufacturers 
might,  perhaps,  rapidly  amass  fortunes,  and  their  operatives 
might  for  a  very  few  years  maintain  their  present  wages, 
although  all  attempts  to  increase  wages  or  to  shorten  hours, 
would  be  defeated  in  advance  ;  but  the  bill  aims  deadly  blows 
at  flax  and  hemp,  earthenware,  glass,  plate-glass,  metal, 
steel,  steel  rail,  and  other  industries.    Hundreds  of  now  ffour- 


3So  THE  RECORD  OF 

ishing  industries  would  be  undermined,  and  an  atmosphere  of 
gloom  and  despondency  would  spread  over  the  land.  Wages 
would  be  generally  reduced,  and  in  the  "  sorrowful  degrada- 
tion of  labor  would  be  planted  the  seeds  of  public  danger." 
A  general  fall  in  prices  is  the  end  sought  by  the  tariff  reduc- 
ers ;  if  their  end  was  realized,  debts  would  not  shrink  with 
the  price  of  property,  and  the  mortgaged  farms  and  home- 
steads of  the  Nation  would  be  sold  under  the  hammer  of  the 
sheriff  to  the  money-holders  of  America  and  Europe. 

And  as  the  prostration  of  business  would  be  general,  the 
woolen  industries  would  share  in  the  general  depression,  and 
free-wool  manufacturers  would  drink  with  the  rest  the  waters 
of  affliction. 

lo.  To  New  England  the  consequences  of  her  folly  if  she 
listens  to  the  siren  song  of  the  tempter  would  be  sad  indeed. 
In  the  constellation  of  the  Union  these  "  once  jubilant  stars  of 
the  morning  would  be  silent  and  dim."  Our  Bourbon  masters 
of  the  South,  skilled  in  the  cunning  of  the  politician,  tireless 
in  the  pursuit  of  the  ends  they  seek,  are  now  seeking  with  fair 
sounding  words  and  beguiling  measures  to  separate  the  East- 
ern Republicans  from  the  Western  Republicans  in  sympathy 
and  in  interest.  It  will  be  an  evil  hour  for  labor  in  the  North 
when  it  consents  to  accept  either  political  econoni}',  politics, 
or  social  or  industrial  ideas  from  the  Bourbon  Democrats  of 
Texas,  Arkansas,  or  Mississippi. 

It  will  bear  reiteration  that  the  Nation  is  now  witnessing  a 
renewal  of  tlie  old  fight  of  the  cotton  planter  in  alliance  with 
the  foreign  importing  interest  to  impose  by  successive  steps 
the  jjolicy    of  free    trade  upon   the  Republic.     The   logic   of 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  381 

the  situation  is  plain.  Ninety  per  cent,  and  more  of  all  the 
products  of  the  agriculture  of  the  United  States  finds  a  mar- 
ket at  home ;  less  than  10  per  cent,  is  exported ;  but  of 
our  cotton  crop  almost  tsvo-thirds  is  exported,  so  that  the 
cotton  planter  to-day,  as  of  old,  is  tempted  to  say  that  in  the 
markets  of  Europe  his  cotton  is  king.  If  Speaker  Carlisle 
is  to  be  believed,  the  cotton  planter  holds  the  home  market, 
present  or  prospective,  in  small  esteem.  This  is  the  whole 
secret  of  the  movement  for  free  trade  in  the  United  States. 
If  it  were  not  for  the  cotton  interest,  the  advocacy  of  tariff' 
reduction  would  be  confined  to  a  few  theorists  having  small 
acquaintance  with  the  real  facts,  and  whose  influence  would 
count  for  nothing. 

The  true  policy  for  the  South  is  to  develop  her  mines  of  iron 
and  coal  and  other  natural  resources,  to  foster  sheep  raising,  to 
build  towns,  educate  her  children,  protect  the  colored  race  in 
their  rights,  and  accept  with  enthusiasm  the  principles  of 
Republicanism . 

The  Democratic  partv,  on  the  tariff",  as  on  questions  of 
human  rights,  is  the  representative  of  Southern  sectionalism 
and  of  a  reactionary  policy  unfavorable  to  the  moral  and  mate- 
rial well  being  of  the  continent. 

II.  The  only  real  Republican  vote  in  the  House  for  the 
Mills  Bill  was  that  of  Knute  Nelson,  of  Minnesota.  Mr.  Nel- 
son is  a  Norwegian  by  birth  and  a  sterling  representative  of 
the  Scandinavian  settlers  of  the  Northwest.  The  Scandinavi- 
ans, conspicuous  ever  for  their  intelligence  and  loyalt}^  to 
human  freedom,  constitute   very  largely  the  Republican  party 


382  THE  RECORD  OF 

of  Minnesota.  Faithful  to  established  connections,  loving  lib- 
erty and  education,  they  are  Republicans  by  conviction. 

Mr.  Nelson  himself,  although  differing  somev.'hat  from  his 
party  associates  on  the  tariff,  indignantly  spurns  the  suggestion 
that  he  could  go  over  to  the  Democratic  party  because  of  a 
difference  of  opinion  on  an  economic  issue.  He  believes  that 
the  farmers  of  his  state  are  unfavorably  affected  by  high  duties. 

He,  and  such  as  he,  deserve  high  praise  for  recognizing  that 
above  all  questions  of  tariff'  or  finance  are  the  supreme  issues 
of  liberty,  education,  and  progress.  It  is  natural  that  the  idea 
should  suggest  itself  to  the  mind  of  a  citizen  of  Minnesota, 
because  that  State  has  been  largely  dependent  upon  the  hard- 
wheat  crop,  which  commands  a  ready  sale  in  England,  and  is 
less  suscej^tible  to  the  competition  of  Indian  or  Russian  wheat, 
because  the  best  in  the  world.  But  fuller  consideration  of  the 
question  will  incline  Minnesota  strongly  to  the  side  of  the 
protective  system. 

The  price  of  even  Minnesota  wheat  would  be  loweretl  in 
European  markets,  did  not  the  home  market  absorb  so  large  a 
proportion  of  the  crop.  And  the  European  market  for  Ameri- 
can wheat  will  take  less  rather  than  more  in  the  future.  The 
true  market  for  the  ^Minnesota  and  Dakota  of  the  future  is  at 
their  very  doors.  Montana,  not  a  wheat  region,  is  destined  to 
a  mining  and  manufacturing  future,  and  will  call  for  wheat. 
In  Mr.  Nelson's  own  district  the  new-found  wealth  of  iron 
ore,  the  best  in  the  world  for  steel,  will  bring  home  to  the 
people  a  realization  of  the  benefits  of  a  diversified  industry. 
The  increasing  butter  product  of  Minnesota  has  no  market 
except  in  the  United  States.     Southwestern  Minnesota   is  the 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  3S3 

natural  home  of  the  sheep,  whose  hoof  is  shod  with  gold. 
Even  in  the  production  of  sugar,  Minnesota  has  a  future.  And, 
besides  all  this,  her  interests  are  in  many  ways  so  bound  up  in 
the  prosperity  of  her  fellow-countrymen  that  ISlinnesota  will 
in  the  end  be  as  soundly  protective  as  Wisconsin,  Kansas,  or 
California. 

12.  As  a  measure  for  the  reduction  of  the  surplus  the  Mills 
Bill  is  a  failure.  The  duties  on  braid,  plaits,  laces,  and  trim- 
mings were  reduced  by  the  act  of  1S83  from  thirty  to  twenty 
per  cent,  ad  valorem,  and  the  sum  paid  in  duties  in  1887  was 
$114,482.76  more  than  in  1883.  The  reduction  on  tin  plate, 
under  the  act  of  1883,  was  one-tenth  of  a  cent  per  pound, 
while  the  duty  collected  in  1SS7  was  $715,468.57  greater  than 
in  1883.  Bronze  —  in  powder  —  was  reduced  by  the  law  of 
1883  from  twenty  to  fifteen  per  cent.,  yet  the  sum  received  by 
the  government  for  duty  in  1887  was  $14,000  more  than  was 
received  from  the  same  source  in  18S3.  The  duty  on  writing 
paper  was  reduced  from  thirty-five  to  twenty-five  per  cent, 
ad  valorem.  The  receipts  in  1883  under  the  higher  duty  were 
$19,406.87  ;  under  the  reduced  duty  in  18S7  the  receipts  were 
$242,216.27,  showing  an  excess  of  duties  of  $222,000  in  1887 
over  1883.  And,  as  before  shown,  the  same  result  has  been 
attained  in  wool  and  woolens. 

Mr.  Cleveland  warns  the  country  that  the  continuance  of  the 
surplus  will  bring  a  commercial  crisis.  He  is  right,  but  his 
policy  of  tarift'  reduction  will  increase  the  surplus  and  precipi- 
tate the  disaster. 

13.  The  way  to  reduce  the  surplus  is  to  abolish  the 
internal  tax  on  tobacco,  and  revise  the  tariff'  by  imposing  such 


384  THE  RECORD  OF 

higher  rates  of  duties  upon  imports  coming  into  competition 
with  articles  produced  in  this  country,  in  proper  cases,  as  to 
check  such  imports  and  diminish  the  receipts  at  the  custom 
house,  while  reducing  duties  upon  articles,  other  than  luxuries, 
not  produced  in  the  country. 

Such  is  the  Republican  plan. 

In  dealing  with  sugar  a  difference  of  opinion  has  always 
existed  among  protectionists.  Some  Republicans  favor  remov- 
ing in  whole,  or  in  part,  the  duty  upon  sugar,  on  the  ground 
that  only  about  one-tenth  of  the  domestic  demand  is  supplied 
by  American  producers.  The  abolition  of  the  tobacco  tax 
and  a  protectionist  revision  of  the  tariff  upon  other  articles, 
will  so  reduce  the  revenues  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  retain 
for  revenue  purposes,  at  least  half  the  sugar  duties. 

The  Mills  bill,  in  accordance  with  the  declared  opinion  of 
Mr.  Mills  that  "upon  correct  principles  of  taxation  there 
should  be  a  higher  duty  upon  sugar  than  upon  any  (^ther  article 
in  the  dutiable  list,"  fixes  a  high,  although  somewhat  reduced, 
duty  ujDon  sugar.  There  is  nothing  surer  than  the  rapid 
increase  of  sugar  production  in  the  United  States,  and  it  ought 
to  l)e  fostered  l)y  protective  duties. 

If  combinations  of  domestic  producers  oppress  consumers. 
relief  can  easily  be  secured,  either  by  authorizing  the  Presi- 
dent in  his  discretion  to  temporarily  free-list  sugar,  or  by  more 
direct  legislative  remedies.  The  same  remark  applies  to  all 
combinations  or  trusts.  The  advantages  of  C()ml)inati()ns  are 
within  oiu"  reach,  without  our  being  compelled  to  suffer  their 
eviljj. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  3S5 

The  Surplus  and  Whiskey  Tax  Questions. 
~    The  Republican  platform  of  iSSS  has  the  following  plank  : 

"  The  Republican  joarty  would  effect  all  needed  reduction 
of  the  national  revenue  by  repealing  the  taxes  upon  tobacco, 
which  are  an  annoyance  and  burden  to  agriculture,  and  the 
tax  upon  spirits  used  in  the  arts  and  for  mechanical  purposes, 
and  by  such  revision  of  the  tariff'  laws  as  will  tend  to  check 
imports  of  such  articles  as  are  produced  by  our  people,  the 
production  of  which  gives  employment  to  oiu"  labor,  and 
release  from  import  duties  those  articles  of  foreign  production 
(except  luxuries)  the  like  of  which  cannot  be  produced  at 
home.  If  there  shall  still  remain  a  larger  revenue  than  is 
requisite  for  the  wants  of  the  government,  we  favor  the  entire 
repeal  of  internal  taxes  rather  tlian  the  surrender  of  an}-  part 
of  our  protective  system,  at  the  joint  behests  of  the  whiskey 
trusts  and  the  agents  of  foreign  manufacturers." 

Taken  in  connection  with  the  explicit  declarations  in  favor 
of  the  protective  system  and  against  free  wool,  the  declaration 
here  quoted  is  the  strongest  and  soundest  protection  platform 
ever  adopted  by  a  national  convention  of  any  political  party. 
The  firm  adhesion  of  the  Nation  to  the  principles  of  the  Chi- 
cago platform  would  give  us  a  basis  for  a  national  prosperity 
grander  than  any  yet  attained. 

The  Republican  party  is  practically  united  in  support  of  the 
foregoing  declaration,  except  that  as  to  the  concluding  sen- 
tence, which  implies  the  possible  repeal  of  the  whiskey  tax, 
some  apparent  divergence  of  opinion  exists ;  but  this  diver- 
gence is  more  apparent  than  real.       The  platform  does  not 


386  THE  RECORD  OF 

declare  for  the  abolition  of  the  whiskey  tax  ;  it  only  declares 
that  if,  after  repealing  the  tobacco  tax  and  revising  the  tariff' in 
a  judicious  manner,  a  surplus  income  should  remain,  all  inter- 
nal taxation  should  be  abolished  rather  than  any  part  of  the 
protective  system  be  sacrificed.  That  is  to  say  the  Republi- 
can party  prefers  to  tax  imports  from  foreign  countries  rather 
than  the  productions  or  business  of  our  own  country.  As  an 
economic  doctrine  this  is  sound,  and  no  intelligent  protection- 
ist will  dissent  from  the  proposition.  At  the  same  time  it 
ought  to  be  well  understood  that  no  necessity  for  considering 
the  question  of  the  repeal  of  the  whiskey  tax  can  arise  during 
the  next  administration. 

The  repeal  of  the  tobacco  tax  and  the  revision  of  the  tariff' 
in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  protection  will  effect  a 
sufficient  reduction  in  the  revenues  of  the  government.  At  a 
more  distant  day  the  question  of  whether  the  whiskey  tax  is 
to  be  permanently  retained  or  abolished  will  come  up  for  dis- 
cussion. When  it  does.  Congress  may  have  to  choose  between 
the  proposition  of  Mr.  Blaine,  that  the  tax  on  whiskey  be 
retained  as  long  as  there  is  any  whiskey  to  tax,  and  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  tax  be  turned  over  to  the  state  governments  to 
assist  in  defraying  their  expenses,  and  the  abolition  of  the  tax 
altogether.  The  public  mind  is  not  at  present  fully  prepared 
for  the  decision  of  tliis  eventual  question  ;  nor  is  it  necessary 
that  it  should  be  considered  at  all  in  deciding  the  paramount 
tariff"  issue  now  to  be  met.  The  Republican  party  in  Congress 
has  given  no  sujDport  to  tlie  repeal  of  the  whiskey  tax,  and  the 
general  drift  of  sentiment  among  the  leaders  of  the  party  has 
been  all  along  averse  to  such  repeal.     There  is  a  moral  side  to 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  387 

be  considered  in  connection  with  the  whiskey  tax.  The  Pro- 
hibition party  is,  however,  in  no  position  to  attack  the  Repub- 
lican party  as  a  free  whiskey  party,  for  the  Prohibition  plat- 
form upon  which  Clinton  B.  Fisk  was  nominated,  declares 
"  For  the  immediate  abolition  of  the  Internal  Revenue  Sys- 
tem, whereby  our  National  Government  is  deriving  support 
from  our  greatest  national  vice." 

If  the  party  which  founds  itself  upon  the  single  idea  of 
National  prohibition  demands  the  immediate  abolition  of  the 
whiskey  tax,  and  claims  to  be  thereby  promoting  the  true 
interests  of  temperance,  judicious  and  candid  temperance  men 
will  think  twice  before  they  too  hastily  condemn  the  Republi- 
can party  because  of  the  declaration  on  that  subject  made  at 
Chicago.  The  framers  of  the  Republican  resolution  evidently 
had  in  mind  and  gave  some  weight  to  the  theory  advanced  by 
temperance  men  that  a  tax  on  the  manufacture  of  liquors  tends 
to  protect  and  foster  the  liquor  traffic,  when  they  alluded  to 
the  desire  of  the  "  whiskey  trusts  "  that  the  tax  be  maintained. 

But  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Blaine  and  most  other  sagacious 
men  is  that  the  abolition  of  the  tax  would  lead  to  the  increase 
of  distillation  and  the  increase  of  consumption. 

The  moral  and  financial  questions  connected  with  the  whis- 
key tax  will  come  up  hereafter  for  deliberate  examination.  No 
issue  is  now  presented  on  that  subject,  and  voters  will  wisely 
direct  their  votes  to  the  issue  now  to  be  decided  between  pro- 
tection and  free  trade. 

General  Harrison  expresses  the  practical  truth  about  this 
matter  when  he  says  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  whiskey  tax  is  too  remote  for  present  consideration. 


CHESTER  ALLAN  ARTHUR, 

THE  FIFTH   REPUBLICAN   PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Chapter  IV. 


THE  LABOR  QUESTION. 

LABOR  qUESTION  RELATED  TO  POLITICS  —  SPEECH  OF  S.  B.  ELKINS  — 
THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY  THE  LABOR  PARTY  OF  THE  COUNTRY  —  THE 
HOMESTEAD  ACT  —  PROTECTION  —  FAIR  ELECTIONS  AND  NATIONAL 
AID   TO  EDUCATION   ESSENTIAL   LABOR  MEASURES. 

Although  it  is  generally  felt  that  a  labor  party,  so  called, 
representing  exclusively  the  interests  of  wage  earners,  has  no 
held  of  usefulness  in  the  United  States,  it  is  nevertheless  recog- 
nized by  all  thoughtful  persons  that  the  labor  question,  or  the 
relations  of  labor  to  capital  has  come  to  be  a  subject  of  deep 
concern  with  vast  mumbers  of  people.  With  the  develop- 
ment of  republican  institutions  the  aspiration  for  approximate 
social  equality  has  become  a  master  passion  dominating  the 
age.  It  ought  not  to  be  an  unregulated  nor  a  wholly  selfish 
passion,  and  in  America  it  will  not  be.  The  labor  movement 
is  essentially  a  generous  one  and  attracts  the  sympathy  of  all 
generous  men,  who,  deploring  the  mistakes,  follies,  and  ex- 
cesses which  may  temporarily  and  in  certain  instances  attend 
it,  hope  and  confidently  believe  that  its  general  course  will  be 
constructive  rather  than  destructive.  The  social  and  labor 
questions  are  inevitably  in  the  field  of  politics.  The  policy, 
the  tendency  of  the  Republican  and  Democratic  parties  have  a 
direct  relation  to  labor  questions. 

An  address  delivered  by  Hon.  Stephen  B.  Elkins  one  of  the 


390  THE  RECORD  OF 

most  prominent  Republicans  of  the  country,  at  Columbia, 
Missouri,  June  3,  1885,  on  the  labor  question,  contains  many 
l^assages  which  ought  to  be  reproduced  in  connection  with  a 
discussion  of  the  great  industrial  issues  which  are  pending  in 
the  election  of  1888  : 

"  The  world  was  never  so  rich  in  accumulated  wealth,  com- 
forts of  civilization,  culture,  intelligence,  and  charity.  The 
average  condition  of  the  people  is  better  than  in  any  former 
period.  Civilization  has  reached  a  higher  point  and  light  is 
breaking  all  around  the  globe.  .  .  .  The  material  progress 
made  during  the  nineteenth  century,  especially  in  the  last  fifty 
years,  surpasses  that  of  all  other  periods  of  history.  In  Europe 
and  the  United  States  wealth  has  increased  since  1850  three 
times  faster  than  population.  Machinery  has  multiplied  until 
its  productive  power  in  the  United  States  and  England  alone 
is  equal  to  the  power  of  a  thousand  million  men.  Huxley 
says  the  7,500,000  workers  in  England  can  produce  as  much 
in  six  months  as  would  have  required,  one  hundred  years  ago, 
the  entire  working  force  of  the  world  one  year  to  equal.  In 
the  United  States  wealth  has  increased  from  1850  to  1SS4  forty- 
two  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty  millions  of  dollars.  Ac- 
cording to  Mulhall,  since  1830  Great  Britain  has  almost  trebled 
her  wealth  ;  France  has  quadrupled  hers,  and  the  United 
States  has  muUii)lic(l  in  wealth  six  fold,  and  at  present  we  are 
growing  nearly  four  millions  richer  at  sunset  than  sunrise  each 
day.  //  is  estimated  that  it  requires  less  than  one-half  of 
the  manual  labor  that  tvas  required  in  186 j  to  produce  an 
equal  amount  of  subsistence.  During  this  period  great 
progress  has  been   made   in  political  and  intellectual  develop- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  391 

ment.  The  schools,  colleges,  asylums,  hospitals,  churches,  and 
benevolent  institutions  found  everywhere  are  the  monuments 
of  increasing  charity  and  philanthropy.  The  nineteenth  cen- 
tury will  be  set  down  in  the  world's  history  as  the  centuiy  of 
material  progress.  May  we  not  believe  that  it  will  furnish  the 
foundation  for  a  moral  progress  not  less  wonderful  in  the 
twentieth  century,  in  the  shadow  of  whose  portals  we  now 
stand,  in  which  the  moral  forces  will  grow  and  be  strength- 
ened, and  man  will  be  made  gentler,  wiser  and  purer,  so  that 
in  the  stately  procession  of  centuries  the  twentieth  will  take  its 
place  as  the  century  of  moral  progress.  The  signs  point  in 
this  direction  and  encourage  this  belief. 

"  In  this  great  march  of  progress  the  United  States  takes  the 
lead.  In  this  rich  world  this  nation  stands  the  richest.  The 
valuation  of  property  in  1SS4  was  $51,670,000,000  in  round 
numbers  ;  that  of  Great  Britain,  mother  and  rival,  being  more 
than  six  thousand  millions  less.  Gladstone,  in  his  article  on 
'Kin  Beyond  the  Sea,'  declared  'that  the  census  of  1880 
would  exhibit  the  American  Republic  as  certainly  the  wealthiest 
of  all  nations,'  and  he  did  not  err.  .  .  .  While  we  recount 
with  pride  and  pleasure  the  progress  made  by  the  nations  of 
Europe,  and  particularly  by  the  United  States,  we  cannot  forget 
that  an  undertone  of  discontent  reaches  us,  which  gives  us 
pause.  In  the  very  nations  where  this  advance  has  been  so 
great,  there  is  wide-spread  depression  in  trade  and  commerce, 
and  dissatisfaction  among  the  people.  While  making  all  these 
splendid  triumphs  and  material  progress  in  works  of  charity  and 
benevolence,  conditions  necessary  to  the  highest  social  progress 
have  been  neglected.     In  Europe  this  discontent  is  due  to  two 


392  THE  RECORD  OF 

causes.  One,  the  unfinished  struggle  on  the  part  of  the  people 
for  political  freedom.  .  .  .  These  nations  have  also  to 
deal  with  another  cause  —  the  industrial  (juestion,  involving 
the  relations  between  labor  and  capital,  employer  and  em- 
ployed, the  rate  of  wages,  and  the  proper  distribution  of 
wealth,  which  is  the  recurring  question  of  all  civilization,  the 
problem  of  all  the  ages.  .  .  .  The  settlement  of  one  of 
these  problems  has  made  this  nation  great  and  its  people 
happy.  .  .  .  Having  secured  a  government  by  the  people 
and  for  the  people,  which  has  stood  the  test  of  foreign  and 
civil  war,  shown  its  ability  in  dealing  with  the  most  compli- 
cated questions,  and  is  about  completing  the  first  century  of  its 
existence,  the  nation  now  has  to  deal  with  the  industrial  prob- 
lem. The  great  increase  in  population,  large  immigration  from 
Europe  —  amounting  in  four  years  to  over  twenty-four  hundred 
thousand  people  —  overcrowding  of  cities,  rapid  absorption  of 
public  lands,  consideration  of  wealth,  importation  of  contract 
labor,  and  other  causes,  are  reproducing  in  New  England,  and 
in  many  of  the  Middle  and  Western  States,  many  of  the  eco- 
nomic and  social  conditions  of  Ein'ope.  In  the  midst  of  great 
wealth,  with  powers  of  production  unsurpassed,  with  material 
success  unparalleled,  there  is,  nevertheless,  depression  in 
trade  and  commerce. 

"  In  this  land  of  plenty,  there  is,  in  places,  the  l)eginning  ol 
want ;  350,000  woikcrs  are  without  employment,  ui)on  whose 
labor  more  than  a  million  women  and  children  depend 
for  food,  shelter,  and  clothing.  How  many  are  working  on 
half-time,  fighting  hunger,  and  in  this  wav  supporting  their 
own  existence  and  the  existence  of  those  dependent  upon  them, 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  393 

cannot  be  estimated.     Many  who  have  employment  are  forced, 
by  competition,  to  accept  a  rate  of  wages  that  yields  a  bare 
subsistence.      ...     In    the  cities  workers   are  forced  into 
packed  and  crowded   tenement   houses,  where  foul  air  breeds 
disease  and  certain  death.     Tlie  tenement  house  population  of 
New  York  City,  amounting  to  500,000,  live  in  20,000  houses. 
.     .     These  evils  have  grown  with  our  growth.     They  are 
largely  the  outcome  here,  as  in  Europe,  of  the  existing  indus- 
trial system.     It  would  be  folly  to  condemn,  as  a  whole,  a  sys- 
tem which,  with  all  its  faults,  has  merits,  and  has  brought  us 
thus  far  on  our  onward  march.     But  in  a  century  the  United 
States  will  have  a  population  of  two  hundred  millions.     It  be- 
hooves us,  therefore,  to  seriously  consider  whether  we  should 
take  the  riskof  going  on  under  a  system  that  permits  such  evils 
as  now  exist,  and  encourages  industrial  war  between  employer 
and  employed.     .      .      .     The  question  is  both  industrial  and  so- 
cial, and  concerns,  not  the  capitalist  nor  the  wage  receiver  ex- 
clusively, nor  the  one  more  than  the  other,  but  the  whole  body 
of  society  and  the  state  itself.     No  question  more  serious  or  of 
graver  moment  ever  came  before  the  American  people,  and 
upon  its  right  settlement  may  not   only  depend   the  future  of 
society,  but  ultimately  the  fate  of  the  great  RejDublic.     .     .     . 
In  this  great  Republic  ;  in  its  fresh  morning  life,  before  wrong, 
error,  and  injustice  have  had  time  to  crystallize  ;  with  no  in- 
herited disposition  to  classes  or  caste  ;  with  all  power  in  a 
people  advancing  in  intelligence  ;  with  sixty  centuries  of  re- 
corded example  and  experience  behind  us  ;  the  underbrush  of 
the  tyrannies,  errors,  and  prejudices  of  centuries  cut  away  ;  the 
situation  clearly  in  view,  and   the  question  pressing  for  solu- 


394  THE  RECORD  OF 

tion,  tliis  would  seem  the  time  to  begin  and  our  country  the 
place  to  solve  the  problem  of  ages.  To  prevefit  industrial 
ivai'^  to  regulate  the  forces  of  competition^  to  secure  to  labor 
a  larger  share  of  the  prodiicts  it  helps  to  create^  shorter 
hours  for  work^  longer  hours  for  leisure  and  improvement^ 
and  to  lesseft  the  cares  and  distresses  of  poverty^  is  an  atnhi- 
tion  worthy  of  Ajnerican  ma?ihood.  If  we  shrink  from  the 
duty  so  plainly  laid  upon  us,  or  fail  in  the  great  undertaking, 
hope  will  be  well-nigh  extinguished. 

"Struggling  humanity  awaits  theaction  of  the  grej\t  Republic, 
to  see  if,  after  giving  man  government  on  a  Christian  basis, 
it  will  give  him  industry  on  a  Christian  basis,  and  thus  take  the 
next  great  step  in  civilization.  Sparse  population  in  most  of 
the  states  ;  the  general  diffusion  of  property,  real  and  personal ; 
the  accumulation  of  savings  ;  the  restraint  of  passions  ;  the 
slumber  of  pride  and  envy,  and  the  comparative  freedom  from 
want,  are  all  guarantees  of  peace  and  order  for  the  present, 
and  permit  us  to  hope  that  danger  is  remote,  and  that  no  revo- 
lution threatens  the  form  and  substance  of  society  and  govern- 
ment. We  can,  therefore,  calmly  approach  the  consideration 
of  the  question,  gather  information,  study  causes,  avoid  the 
errors  of  other  ages,  and  seriously  consider  in  a  spirit  of  fair- 
ness, relying  upon  no  fancied  advantage  or  security,  what  as 
individuals  and  as  a  nation  we  ouglit  to  do.  Let  us  feel  that 
we  are  on  the  threshold  of  a  revolution,  having  for  its  end  and 
aim  the  bettering  of  the  condition  of  our  fellow-man,  to  be 
wrought  out  through  peaceable  methods,  with  sublime  thoughts 
'  that  pierce  the  night  like  stars,'  and  noble  ideas  and  deeds  for 
weapons.      ...     In  the  United  States  it  is  true  that  wages 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  395 

have  advanced  during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  But  the 
wants  to  be  satisfied,  in  order  to  support  life  on  the  same  rela- 
tive plane  as  before,  have  also  increased.  And  this  is  right; 
it  would  be  a  violence  to  human  nature  if  it  were  not  so.  As 
the  world  grows  in  powxr  of  production,  man  ought  to  grow 
in  taste  and  needs.  His  desire  for  a  larger  and  higher  state  of 
existence  does  grow,  and  ought  to  grow  as  fast  as  the  means  of 
satisfving  that  desire.  Hefzce,  at  all  ti?}ies  the  true  question 
is,  not  -whether  workers  receive  more  than  before,  but 
■whether  they  produce  more  and  get  a  larger  proportion  of 
what   is  produced  than  before.         ..... 

"  It  is  plain  that  some  adjustment  must  be  reached  by  which 
the  war  now  raging  between  employer  and  employed  in  the 
industrial  world  must  come  to  an  end,  and  be  superseded  by  a 
system  that  will  unite  the  interests  of  the  employer  and  those 
of  the  employed.  .  .  .  .  .  . 

' '  Nature  has  made  provision  for  all  her  sons.  The  industrial 
system  which  does  not  permit  the  worthy  to  get  enorcgh  is  at 
fault.  One  of  the  greatest  statesmen  and  orators  of  our  times 
has  said  '  wages  are  unjustly  reduced  when  an  industrious 
??ian  is  not  able  by  his  earnings  to  live  in  comfort,  edticate 
his  children,  and  lay  by  a  szifficient  afnount  for  the  necessi- 
ties of  age.'     [Mr.  Blaine.]" 

Mr.  Elkins  proceeds  to  express  his  dissent  from  the  ^^lais- 
sezfaire"  doctrine,  to  advocate  national  aid  to  education,  re- 
striction in  the  amount,  and  reform  in  the  methods  of  local  tax- 
ation "  wdiich  falls  heaviest  on  the  worker,  and  often  robs  him 
of  the  ability  to  save  from  his  earnings." 

"  Legal  restraints  are  needed   against  the  holding  of  lands 


39^  THE  RECORD  OF 

for  speculative  purposes,  dependinii^  upon  increased  population 
and  settlement  to  make  them  valuable."  "All  public  lands 
suitable  for  agriculture  should  be  reserved  as  homes  for  the 
people,  and  hereafter  sold  only  to  American  citizens,  or  those 
who  in  good  faith  declare  their  intention  of  becoming  actual 
settlers.  Grants  of  land  not  earned  should  be  forfeited  to  the 
government."  "  There  should  be  a  better  supervision  of  state 
and  inter-state  commerce,  wiser  supervision  of  banks,  trust 
companies,  and  life  insurance  companies,  and  adequate  meas- 
ures for  the  establishment  of  popular  savings  banks  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Pi-otection  of  American  industry  and  Ameri- 
can labor  should  be  more  wisely  fostered  and  more  efficient. 
Pauper  immigration  and  importation  of  contract  labor  should 
be  more  effectively  prevented.  Laws  should  be  passed  to  re- 
strict child  labor,  to  provide  for  the  health  of  those  employed 
in  factories. 

"Over  capitalizationof  corporations,  watering  of  stocks,  the 
people  should  take  care  to  check  by  stringent  legislation." 

Mr.  Elkins  proceeds  in  the  same  address  to  advocate  : 

I .     Arbitration  and  conciliation, 

3.     Cooperation,  and 

3.      Profit  sharing. 

We  have  cjuotcd  thus  at  length  from  tliis  elocjuent  and 
thouglitful  address  of  Mr.  Elkins  because,  first,  of  its  intrinsic 
merits,  and  second,  because  it  is  the  utterance  of  a  representa- 
tive Republican. 

The  Democratic  politicians  have  artfully  endeavored  to 
create  an  impression  that  the  Republican  party  has  not  been 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  397 

as  friendly  to  the  interests  of  the  poorer  citizens  as  the  Demo- 
cratic. A  more  monstrous  perversion  of  the  truth  could  not 
be  made.  The  truth  is  that  the  Democratic  party  cannot  point 
to  a  single  achievement,  during  the  last  fifty  years,  of  that 
party  in  the  interest  of  labor.  The  Democratic  party  has  ever 
been  the  party  of  mere  negation,  the  party  of  obstruction,  the 
do-nothing  party.  The  Republican  party  has  been  the  great 
labor  party  of  the  country.  The  homestead  policy,  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Western  territories  as  free  soil,  the  restoration 
of  the  protective  system,  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  enfran- 
chisement of  the  colored  race,  were  all  Republican  measures, 
,  all  great  labor  measures,  and  were  all  bitterly  resisted  by  the 
Democrats.  The  Homestead  Act  was  carried  through  Con- 
gress by  the  Republicans  with  little  help  from  Democrats 
in  the  year  i860  when  the  presidential  election  was  pending. 
The  bill  was  vetoed  by  President  Buchanan,  the  last  Demo- 
cratic President  elected  before  Mr.  Cleveland,  on  the  ground 
that  it  was  unconstitutional,  unjust  to  the  old  states,  and  be- 
cause it  was  a  measure  which  "will  go  far  to  demoralize  the 
people."  The  bill  failed  to  pass  the  Senate  over  the  veto  of 
Buchanan,  the  Democrats  voting  eighteen  against  the  bill  and 
nine  in  favor.  The  Republican  platform  in  i860  contained  a 
strong  declaration  in  favor  of  free  homesteads,  and  the  poor 
man's  homestead  triumphed  in  Republican  success.  In  1863 
a  homestead  bill,  granting  160  acres  to  every  actual  settler  on 
the  public  lands,  twenty-one  years  or  more  of  age,  who  is  or 
has  declared  his  intention  to  become  a  citizen,  was  enacted. 
The  vote  in  the  Senate  on  the  bill  was  yeas  33,  nays  7.  Of 
the  yeas,  30  were  Republicans  and  3  Democrats  ;  of  the  nays,  6 


398  THE  RECORD  OF 

were  Democrats  and  i  Rcjxiblican.  In  the  House  the  vote 
stood  yeas  114,  nays  iS.  Of  the  yeas,  92  were  Republicans 
and  22  Democrats;  of  the  nays,  15  were  Democrats  and  3  were 
Republicans. 

Abraham  Lincoln  signed  the  Homestead  Act. 

The  Republican  party  is  now  striving  to  bring  about  three 
things  tliat  are  in  tlie  interest  of  labor  in  every  part  of  the 
United  States.  One  of  tliese  things  is  the  maintenance  and 
the  perfection  of  the  system  of  protection  to  American  labor 
b)'  the  tarilVon  foreign  imports. 

This  is  indispensable  to  the  progress  of  labor  in  this  country. 
No  intelligent  protectionist  claims  that  the  higher  wages  in 
this  country  than  in  Europe  or  China  are  due  entirely  to  the 
tariff  protection,  nor  that  protection  is  all  that  labor  needs. 
But  every  intelligent  man  knows  that  without  protection  wages 
and  the  standard  of  living  would  foil  ;  and  that  if  into  our  own 
field  of  labor,  of  study,  and  of  experiment  in  the  solution 
of  labor  and  social  questions,  the  American  mechanic  and 
labor&r  permits  to  come  the  competition  of  the  industries  of 
foreign  countries,  over  whose  policy  and  whose  customs  we 
have  no  control  and  no  inHuence  save  that  which  is  indirect, 
the  end  of  progress  and  hope  for  labor  and  social  reform  in 
America  will  have  been  reached. 

Stripped  of  all  disguise,  Mr.  Cleveland's  reelection  will  be  a 
decision  in  favor  of  giving  up  the  control  of  the  markets  of  the 
United  States  to  those  who  can  come  and  take  them.  Such  a 
verdict  the  intelligent  workingmen  of  the  United  States  will 
never  render. 

Labor  has  a  great  stake  in  the  restoration  of  the  colored  race 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  399 

to  political  activity,  in  the  restoration  of  that  race  to  a  large 
measure  of  political  power.  If  that  race,  destined  to  be  multi- 
plied to  many  millions,  shall  sink  down  into  insignificance 
and  ignoble  content  with  poor  and  lowly  conditions,  a  ball  and 
chain  will  be  thereby  hung  about  the  limbs  of  labor  in  the 
North.  No  party  demanding  to  be  led  in  the  path  of  popular 
progress,  no  party  mindful  of  justice  to  the  poor  and  to  labor, 
is  possible  in  such  states  as  South  Carolina  and  Mississippi 
except  a  party  founded  in  large  part  upon  the  basis  of  the  col- 
ored vote.  If  the  negro  fails  to  regain  the  ballot,  his  wages 
will  remain  very  low,  and  his  practical  slavery  will  constantly 
depress  the  condition  of  labor  in  the  North. 

The  position  of  the  Republican  party  upon  the  subject  of 
national  aid  to  education  gives  the  Republicans  title  to  every 
labor  vote  in  America. 


Chapter  V, 


FREE  AND  FAIR  ELECTIONS. 

THE  SUPPRESION  OF  SUFFRAGE  IN  THE  SOUTH  —  GROVER  CLEVKLAND 
NOT  FAIRLY  ELECTED  —  MR.  BAYARD'S  PROPHECY —  IMPARTIAL 
TESTIMONY  AS  TO  DEMOCRATIC  FRAUD — THE  SILENT  SOUTH  — 
REPUBLICANS  PLEDGED  TO  RESTORE  THE  BALLOT  TO  THE 
COLORED  RACE — MR.  BLAINe'S  AUGUSTA  SPEECH  —  A  FREE  BALLOT 
THE  GROUND  OF  REPUBLICAN  UNITY  —  THE  SOUTH  DAKOTA  qUES- 
TION. 

The  Republican  Platform  adopted  at  Chicag-o,  in  Jiuie,  iSSS, 
contains  this  declaration  : 

"We  reaffirm  our  unswerving  devotion  to  the  National 
Constitution,  and  to  the  indisoluble  union  of  the  states  ;  to 
the  autonomy  reserved  to  the  states  under  tlie  Constitution  ;  to 
the  personal  rights  and  liberties  of  citizens  in  all  the  states  and 
territories  in  the  Union,  and  especially  to  the  supreme  and 
sovereign  right  of  every  lawful  citizen,  rich  or  poor,  native  or 
foreign  Ijorn,  wliite  or  black,  to  cast  one  free  ballot  in  pubHc 
elections,  and  to  have  that  ballot  duly  counted.  We  hold  the 
free  and  honest  popular  ballot,  and  the  just  and  equal  repre- 
sentation of  all  the  people  to  be  the  foundation  of  our  republi- 
can government,  and  demand  etlcctive  legislation  to  secure  the 
integrity  and  purity  of  elections,  which  are  the  fountains  of  all 
public  authority.  We  charge  that  the  present  administration 
and  the  Democratic  majority  in  Congress,  owe  their  existence 
to  the  suppression  of  the  ballot  by  a  criminal  nullification  of 
the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  the  United  States." 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  401 

Every  intelligent  man  in  the  country  knows,  or  may  know, 
that  Grover  Cleveland  would  not  now  be  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  if  a  fair  election  could  have  been  had  in  the 
States  of  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  Florida, 
Arkansas,  and  Alabama.  These  six  states  cast  forty-seven 
electoral  votes  for  President.  In  a  fair  election  they  are  all 
Republican.  Especially  certain  for  the  Republicans  are 
South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Florida.  These 
last  four  states  cast  thirty  electoral  votes.  Any  three  of  these 
four  states  would  have  elected  James  G.  Blaine.  The  leaders 
of  the  Democratic  party  have,  ever  since  the  war,  been  plan- 
ning for  the  restoration  of  their  power  by  the  thrusting  out  of 
the  negro  as  a  factor  in  determining  political  results.  In  the 
Forty-second  Congress,  Senator  Bayard  attached  his  name  to  a 
minority  report  of  a  committee  which  had  investigated  South- 
ern elections,  in  which  these  words  occur : 

"  But  whenever  the  Republican  party  shall  go  down,  as  go 
down  it  will  at  some  time  not  long  in  the  future,  that  will  be 
the  end  of  the  political  power  of  the  negro  among  white  men 
on  this  continent." 

The  resistance  of  the  Southern  Democrats  to  the  constitu- 
tional rights  of  the  colored  race  has  been  continued  so  lonsf 
and  so  successfully,  that  a  large  part  of  the  Northern  people 
have  become  wearied  with  the  subject,  and  are  inclined  either 
to  doubt  whether  the  Republican  allegation  that  suffrage  has 
been  suppressed  in  Southern  States  is  true,  or  to  a  belief  that 
nothing  can  be  done  by  political  action  to  remedy  the  wrongs 
complained  of. 
26 


403  THE  RECORD  OF 

It  is  not  the  part  of  hoiicjr  or  of  wisdom  for  the  people  to 
grow  careless  as  to  whether  the  colored  race  is  stripped  of  the 
rights  which  the  Nation  conferred. 

The  Republican  party  has  resolutely  refused  to  become 
blind  or  indiflerent  to  this  long  continued  stifling  of  the  popu- 
lar will  by  Democratic  fraud  and  violence,  and  not  only  pro- 
tests against  the  wrong,  but  expresses  its  purpose  of  correcting 
these  evils  as  soon  as  it  recovers  power.  ' 

A  vast  amount  of  proof  of  Democratic  crime  in  elections  in 
the  South  has  been  accumulated  and  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  people  through  Congressional  investigations,  but  we 
have  thought  it  w'ell  to  addvice  here  some  evidence  of  a  con- 
vincing and  conclusive  character.  In  1S79  there  was  published 
in  New  York  a  book  entitled  White  and  Black ;  the  Out- 
come of  a  Visit  to  the  United  States.  The  author  was  Sir 
George  Campbell,  a  Scottish  member  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment, a  gentleman  of  intelligence  and  character  who  had  occu- 
]3ied  a  responsible  post  in  the  administration  of  the  govern- 
ment of  India.  Mr.  Campbell  made  an  extensive  tour 
throughout  the  South  in  the  year  187S,  and  was  an  attentive 
observer  of  the  condition  of  the  colored  race  in  the  states  he 
visited.  He  was  present  in  South  Carolina  at  the  time  of  the 
Congressional  election  in  1S7S,  when  the  famous  tissue  liallot 
frauds  were  perpetrated,  and  his  testimony  is  of  great  \alue 
because  it  is  tliat  of  an  intelligent  \\  itness,  entirely  disinter- 
ested and  impartial,  ^vho  had  full  opportunity  to  learn  the  truth 
of  the  case.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Republican  party 
was  first  overthrown  in  South  Carolina  in  1876  through  the 
agency  of  the  rifle  clubs  organized  l)y  the  Democractic  party. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  403 

Actual  violence  carried  to  the  extreme  of  murder  having  ac- 
complished a  political  revolution  in  1S76,  it  was  now  resolved 
by  the  Democrats,  in  187S,  to  complete  this  ascendancy  by 
equally  criminal  but  less  brutal  methods.  Fraud  took  the 
place  of  force. 

Mr.   Campbell  thus   narrates  what  he  witnessed   in   South 

Carolina  in  1S78  : 

• 

"  To  return  to  the  history  of  South  Carolina.  After  the 
withdrawal  of  the  United  States  troops  the  carpet-baggers 
were  entirely  routed  and  put  to  flight,  and  Wade  Hampton 
assumed  the  undisputed  government.  He  has  certainly  had 
much  success.  His  party  claims  (I  believe  with  justice)  that 
he  has  done  much  to  restore  the  finances,  promote  education, 
and  protect  blacks  and  whites  in  the  exercise  of  peaceful  call- 
ings. As  regards  political  matters,  his  policy  amounts,  I 
think,  to  this —  it  is  in  effect  said  to  the  blacks  :  '  If  you  will 
accept  the  present  regifne^  follow  us,  and  vote  Democratic, 
we  will  receive  you,  cherish  you,  and  give  you  a  reasonable 
share  of  representation,  local  office,  etc.  ;  but  there  shall  be 
nothing  for  those  who  persist  in  voting  Republican.'  Some 
of  them  accept  these  terms,  but  to  vote  Democratic  is  the  one 
thing  which  the  great  majority  will  not  do.  They  may  be  on 
excellent  terms  with  white  men  with  whom  they  have  rela- 
tions, will  follow  them  and  be  guided  by  them  in  everything 
else,  but  thev  have  sufficient  independence  to  hold  out  on  that 
point  of  voting,  even  when  they  have  lost  their  white  leaders 
and  are  quite  left  to  themselves.  They  know  that  they  owe 
their  freedom  to  the  Republicans,  and  it  is  to  them   a   sort  of 


404  THE  RECORD  OF 

religion  to  vote  Republican.  In  South  Carolina  that  is  the 
view  of  the  great  body  of  the  blacks,  as  the  Democrats  fully 
admit.  Stories  are  told  of  personal  dependents  of  the  present 
governor  who  owe  everything  to  him,  and  would  do  anything 
else  in  the  world  for  him,  but  who  will  yet  openly  vote  against 
him.  Such,  then,  was  the  state  of  things  when  the  elections 
of  November,  187S,  came  on.  It  seemed  to  be  well  known 
beforehand  that  the  Democrats  were  determined  to  win  every- 
thing in  the  South. 

'•  It  was  said  to  be  a  necessity  finally  to  emancipate  all  the 
states  from  the  scandal  of  black  and  carpet-bag  rule,  and  so 
far  one  could  not  but  sympathize  with  the  feeling  ;  but  so 
much  had  already  been  achieved,  and  there  was  not  the  least 
risk  of  a  reaction.  On  the  contrary,  the  power  of  the  native 
whites  was  thoroughly  reestablished.  In  South  Carolina 
Wade  Hampton's  reelection  was  not  opposed,  and  there  was 
no  question  vV-hatever  that  by  moderate  means  the  Democrats 
could  retain  a  very  decided  majority  in  the  state  legislature. 
But  they  were  not  content  with  this  ;  they  aimed  at  an  abso- 
lute possession  of  everything,  leaving  no  representation  to 
their  opponents  at  all,  and  especially  at  a'  Solid  South  '  in  the 
United  States  Congress.  'They  are  determine*!  to  win,'  I  was 
told.  'They  will  get  the  votes  by  fair  means  if  they  can,  and  if 
not,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  they  will  steal  'em.'  And  that  is  just  what 
was  done  in  South  Carolina.  .  .  .  There  is  a  remarkable 
frankness  and  openness  in  speaking  of  the  way  in  which  things 
were  managed,  and  I  believe  I  violate  no  confidences,  because 
there  was  no  whispering  or  confidence  about  it.  There  was 
not   a   very  great  amount  of  violence  or  intimidation.     Some 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  405 

Republican  meetings  were  violently  interfered  with  before  the 
election,  and  on  the  day  of  the  election  there  was  at  some 
places  a  certain  amount  of  galloping  about,  firing  guns,  and 
such-like  demonstration  by  men  in  red  shirts  ;  but  any  intimi- 
dation used  was  rather  moral  than  physical.  In  all  districts 
where  the  parties  in  any  degree  approach  equality,  perhaps 
there  would  be  no  very  strong  grounds  for  disputing  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Democrats.  It  is  in  the  lower  districts,  where  the 
Republicans  are  admittedly  in  an  immense  majority,  that  great 
Democratic  majorities  were  obtained  by  the  simple  process  of 
what  is  called  '  stuffing  the  ballot-boxes.'  For  this  purpose 
the  Democrats  used  ballot-papers  of  the  thinnest  possible  tis- 
sue paper,  such  that  a  number  of  them  can  be  packed  inside 
of  one  larger  paper  and  shaken  out  as  they  are  dropped  into 
the  box.  These  papers  were  freely  handed  about ;  they  were 
shown  to  me,  and  I  brought  away  specimens  of  them. 

"  I  never  heard  a  suggestion  that  these  extraordinary  little 
gossamer-web  things  were  designed  for  any  other  purpose  than 
fraud.  Of  course,  the  result  of  such  a  system  was  that  there 
were  many  more  ballot-papers  in  the  box  than  voters.  At  one 
place  in  the  Charleston  district,  where  not  above  one  thou- 
sand persons  voted,  there  were  found,  I  believe,  three  thousand 
^ve  hundred  papers  in  the  box. 

"In  such  a  case,  the  practice  (whether  justified  by  law  or 
not,  I  know  not,)  is  that  the  election  managers  blindfold  a  man, 
who  draws  out  and  destroys  the  number  of  papers  in  excess 
of  the  voters.  Of  course,  he  takes  care  to  draw  out  the  thick 
papers  of  the  opposite  party,  and  to  leave  in  the  thin  papers  of 
his  own  party  ;  and  so  when  the  process  is  completed  the  Demo- 


4o6  THE  RECORD  OF 

crats  arc  found  to  be  in  a  threat  majority,  and  the  return  is  so 
made  1)\-  the  returning  board.  There  are  some  other  grounds 
of  comphiint.  In  some  of  the  black  districts  the  number  of 
polling-phices  has  been  so  reduced  that  it  is  impossible  for  all 
who  wish  to  poll  to  do  so  in  the  time  allowed.  At  one  or  two 
places  the  ballot-boxes  were  stolen  and  carried  off.  At  one 
place  of  which  I  have  personal  knowledge,  the  appointed 
election  managers  simply  kept  out  of  the  way,  and  had  no 
poll  at  all.  Hundreds  of  blacks  who  came  to  vote  were  told 
that  they  must  go  elsewliere,  wlien  it  was  too  late  to  do  so. 

"  In  short,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  as  matter  within 
my  ow^n  knowledge,  that,  if  these  elections  had  taken  place  in 
England,  there  were  irregularities  which  must  have  vitiated 
them  before  an  election  judge  a  hundred  times  over.  " 

"  The  result  of  these  elections  was  that,  except  in  the  single 
county  of  Beaufort,  not  one  Republican  or  Independent  w^as 
returned  to  the  state  legislature  ;  nor,  I  believe,  was  a  single 
office-bearer  of  those  persuasions  elected.  The  dominant 
party  took  everything,  and  the  Republican  members  of  Con- 
gress were  all  ejected.  South  Carolina  returns  a  solid  Demo- 
cratic representation  to  the  next  Congress." 

Having  thus  obtained    full    control    of  atlairs   by    crimes   of 
force  and  fraud,  the  South  Carolina  Democrats  desired  to  pci^ 
petuate  their  power  without  the  necessity  of  resorting  at  each 
recurring  election  to  tlie  same  methods. 

Accordingly,  in  1SS2  the  Democratic  legislature  enacted  a 
new  law  regulating  the  registration  of  voters  and  the  conduct 
of  elections.      The  provisions  of  this  law  are  ingeniously  con- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 


407 


trived  to  accomplish  the  disfranchisement  of  voters.  One 
extraordinary  requirement  is  that  each  voter  shall  present  at 
the  polls  where  he  offers  to  vote,  a  certificate  of  registration, 
vs^hich  he  receives  when  he  registers.  As  a  result  of  the 
violence  and  fraud  employed  in  the  past  to  carry  elections,  and 
finally  of  the  outrageous  election  legislation,  the  vote  of  the 
people  in  South  Carolina  has  been  almost  entirely  svippressed. 

Very  similar  results  have  been  effected  by  similar  causes  in 
other  Southern  States. 

The  following  tables  show  to  what  extent  the  suppression  of 
suffrage  has  proceeded  in  South  Carolina,  Mississippi,  and 
Georgia.  Comparison  is  made  between  the  vote  in  years  when 
suffrage  was  free  and  the  Congressional  election  of  1SS6,  under 
a  Democratic  President  when  the  nullification  of  the  constitu- 
tion had  been  accomplished  : 

SOUTH  CAROLINA. 


VOTE  IN  CONG.  DISTRICTS,  i8S6. 

VOTE  IN  CONG.  DISTRICTS,  1870. 

DiST. 

Rep. 

Dem. 

Total  Vote. 

Rep. 

Dem. 

Total  Vote. 

I 
2 
3 
4 
S 
6 

7 

No  opp. 
S.961 

3.315 

5,212 
4,402 

4-47° 
4.696 
4,411 
6.493 

3.317 
S.23S 
4.409 
4.470 
4,701 
4.^69 
12.476 

20,221 

■S.70O 
20,564 
16,746 

ii,63S 
1 6,686 
13.997 
>3.442 

31.S49 

34.561 
30. I 88 

Total  Vote, 

1886,    . 

.      39.077 

Voters, 

iSSo. 

Total  Vote, 

1S84,    •        • 

.      90,689 

White, 

. 

86,900 

Total  Vote, 

1SS2,    . 

■     '21.399 

Colored, 

118,889 

4o8 


THE  RECORD  OF 

MISSISSIPPI. 


VOTE  IN  CONG.  DISTRICTS,  i8S6. 

VOTE  IN  CONG.  DISTRICTS,  187a. 

DiST. 

Rep. 

Dem. 

Total  Vote. 

Rep.              Dem. 

Total  Vote. 

I 

2 

3 
4 
S 
6 

7 

No.  opp. 

4.4>7 

2,382 

No.  opp. 

3.82s 
No.  opp. 

3140 
6.837 
4.5'S 
2,964 
42S9 
8,284 
4.508 

3.167 
".254 
6.900 
3,086 
4.316 
12,117 
4.S14 

4.954 
>4.S3' 
15.047 
15,795 
14.S17 
15,161 

9.670 
S,2i6 
6,440 
6,879 

8,073 
8,509 

i4,'=24 
23047 
21,487 
22,674 
22,990 
23,610 

GEORGIA. 

Voters,  iSSo. 

'^^Ti'te 177,967 

Colored 143,471 

Total, 321,^38 

Total  vote  in  Congressional  Districts,  18S6,         ....        27,520 

Ten  members  of  Congress  were  chosen  by  27,520  votes, 
more  than  that  number  being  usually  required  to  choose  a 
single  congressman  in  the  North. 

It  has  been  said  that  as  the  Republican  party  during  its  con- 
tinuance in  power  failed  to  protect  the  colored  voters  of  the 
South  in  tlic  exercise  of  their  rights,  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  a  restoration  of  Republican  rule  would  correct 
these  evils,  and  it  is  further  alleged  that  there  is  under  our 
system  of  government  no  remedy  for  such  wrongs.  To  these 
objections  there  is  an  easy  answer.  The  Republicans  lost 
control  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1874,  and  have 
but  once  since  elected  a  majority  of  the  house  ;  and  that  once 
was  in  18S0,  when  General  Garfield  was  elected  President, 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  409 

whose  unhappy  death  and  the  resulting  political  disturbances 
prevented  the  accomplishment  of  Republican  policy,  until  in 
1882  the  Democrats  again  carried  the  House.  The  Democrats 
have  been  able  to  hold  the  Republicans  in  check  on  all  ques- 
tions, by  means  of  the  representation  at  Washington  secured 
by  the  criminal  methods  of  the  Southern  Democracy. 

With  the  return  of  the  Republicans  to  power  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress  and  in  the  Presidency,  the  restoration  of 
fair  elections  in  the  South  will  not  be  found  difficult.  Mem- 
bers of  Congress  elected  by  fraud  will  then  be  unseated,  and 
laws  adequate  to  protect  the  purity  of  the  ballot  can  then  be 
passed  and  enforced.  Little,  however,  of  coercion  will  be 
needed.  The  moral  effect  of  a  popular  condemnation  of 
Democratic  election  crimes  will  be  sufficient  to  break  up  the 
political  solidity  of  the  South,  already  beginning  to  dissolve. 

A  leading  Ohio  editor  states  the  issue  for  1888  in  these  woi'ds  : 

"  The  question  whether  we  shall  have  a  government  of  nul- 
lifiers,  is  that  upon  which  we,  the  people  of  the  United  States 
who  ordained  and  established  the  Constitution,  shall  enter 
judgment  in  the  election  of  1888." 

When  the  result  of  tlie  presidential  election  of  1884  was 
fully  known,  Mr.  Blaine  in  his  famous  Augusta  speech  thus 
spoke  of  the  suppression  of  suffi-age  in  the  South,  which  at 
last  had  given  to  the  Democratic  party  the  Presidency  : 

"  This  subject  is  of  deep  interest  to  the  laboring  men  of  the 
North.  With  the  Southern  Democracy  triumphant  in  the 
states  and  in  the  Nation,  the  negro  will  be  compelled  to  work 
for  just  such  wages  as  the  whites  may  decree  ;  wages  which 
will  amount,  as  did  the  supplies  of  the  slave,  to  a  bare  sub- 


4IO  THE  RECORD  OF 

sistence,  equatetl  in  cash  perhaps  at  thirty-five  cents  per  day, 
if  averaged  over  the  entire  South.  The  wliite  laborer  in  the 
North  will  soon  feel  the  destructive  efiect  of  this  upon  his 
own  wages.  The  Republican  party  has  clearly  seen  from  the 
earliest  days  of  reconstruction  that  wages  in  the  South  must 
be  raised  to  a  just  recompense  of  the  laborer,  or  wages  in  the 
North  ruinously  lowered,  and  it  has  steadily  worked  for  the 
former  result.  The  reverse  influence  will  now  be  set  in 
motion,  and  that  condition  of  afi'airs  reproduced  which 
years  ago  Mr.  Lincoln  warned  the  free  laboring  men  of  the 
North  will  prove  hostile  to  their  independence,  and  will  inev- 
itably lead  to  a  ruinous  reduction  of  wages." 

When  Mr.  Bayard,  speaking  the  sentiment  of  the  Demo- 
cratic leaders,  declares  that  the  political  power  of  the  negro 
on  this  continent  has  come  to  an  end,  the  Republican  party 
takes  issue  ;  and  standing  u[)()n  the  Constitution  of  the  Repub- 
lic, upon  the  law  of  the  land,  upon  the  immortal  declaration 
that  all  men  are  created  equal,  upon  the  rights  of  human 
nature,  it  flings  back  to  the  Southern  Democracy  the  disloval 
sentiment,  and  declares  thai  the  political  })ower  of  no  Ameri- 
can citizen,  and  of  no  class  of  American  citizens  shall  come 
to  an  end  in  this  ficc  republic. 

The  Republicans  welcome  the  issue.  Strong  as  they  are  on 
the  tarifl",  deserving  as  they  are  of  the  confidence  of  tlie  Inisi- 
ness  interests,  stronger  tliev  are  by  far  when  tliev  proclaim  that 
the  fraudulent  lule  of  a  usurping  class  shall  come  to  an  end, 
and  that  the  fuuntain  of  ])olitical  power  shall  flow  pure  and 
free. 

Kepultlicaiis  not  entiieh    in  accoid  \\  itli  the    i)art\   policv  o 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  411 

the  tariff' will  be  united  in  favor  of  the  restoration  of  Republi- 
can rule  on  the  paramount  issue  of  a  free  ballot. 

The  Exclusion  of  South  Dakota. 

Not  only  has  the  Democratic  party  seized  control  of  the 
government  by  the  fraudulent  suppression  of  the  suffrage  of 
the  colored  race  in  the  Southern  States,  but  it  has  now  for 
years  refused  to  admit  South  Dakota  to  the  Union,  although 
the  people  have  formed  a  state  constitution  and  urgently 
demanded  admission.  A  great  wrong  has  been  done  to  the 
people  of  South  Dakota,  and  the  disfranchisement  of  400,000 
people  is  a  great  wrong  to  the  whole  Union.  No  state 
admitted  since  the  organization  of  the  government  has  been  so 
well  prepared  for  admission  as  South  Dakota.  The  Republi- 
cans of  the  Senate  have  twice  passed  a  bill  to  admit  the  new 
state,  but  the  Democratic  House  refuses  to  act  on  the 
measure.  South  Dakota  is  denied  admission,  because  she 
will  be  a  Republican  State.  Union  veterans  from  older  West- 
ern States  constitute  an  important  part  of  the  population  of  the 
new  state,  while  the  foreign  immigrants  are  chiefly  Swedes, 
Norwegians,  and  Germans,  whose  political  affiliation  is  with 
the  Republicans.  A  Democratic  Senator  objected  in  debate 
in  the  Senate  to  the  admission  of  South  Dakota  because  there 
were  so  many  foreigners  in  the  State.  General  Harrison  while 
in  the  Senate  was  the  especial  champion  of  the  rights  of  South 
Dakota  to  statehood. 

The  triumph  of  the  Republican  party  will  be  followed  by 
the  admission  of  South  Dakota  and  other  Northwestern  States, 
thus  strengthening  in  the  Union  the  forces  of  education,  of 
popular  progress,  and  true  national  development. 


Chapter  VI 


PENSIONS. 

DEPENDENT  PENSION  BILL  OF  1887  —  VETO  OF  PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND 
—  DEPENDENT  PENSION  BILL  OF  1888  —  MR.  CLEVELAND  AND  THE 
DEMOCRATS  UNWILLING  TO  DO  JUSTICE  TO  THE  SOLDIERS  OF  THE 
UNION  —  WASHINGTON  AND  CLEVELAND  IN  CONTRAST  —  VETOES  OF 
SPECIAL  PENSION    BILLS. 

A  CLEARLY  defined  issue  has  arisen  between  President  Cleve- 
land, supported  by  the  Democrats  in  Congress,  on  the  one 
side,  and  the  Republicans  in  Congress  on  the  other. 

January  27,  1887,  a  bill  passed  the  Senate,  in  concurrence 
w^ith  the  House  of  Representatives,  entitled  a  "Bill  for  the 
relief  of  dependent  parents  and  lionorably  discharged  soldiers 
and  sailors,  who  are  now  disabled  and  dependent  upon  their 
own  labors  for  support." 

This  bill  provided,  first :  "That  in  considering  the  pen- 
sion claims  of  dependent  parents,  the  fact  and  cause  of  death, 
and  the  fact  that  the  soldier  left  no  widow  or  minor  children, 
having  been  shown  as  required  by  law,  it  shall  be  necessary 
only  to  show  by  competent  and  sufficient  evidence  that  such 
parent,  or  parents,  are  without  other  present  means  of  support 
than  their  own  manual  labor,  ov  the  contributions  of  others 
not  legally  bound  for  their  support ;  "  and  second,  "that  all 
persons  who  served  three  months  or  more  in  the  military  or 
naval  service  of  the  United  States  in  any  war  in  which  the 
United  States  has  been  engaged,  and  who  have  been  honorably 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  413 

discharged  therefrom,  and  who  are  now,  or  who  may  hereafter 
be  suffering  from  mental  or  physical  disability,  not  the  result  ot 
their  vicious  habits  or  gross  carelessness,  which  incapacitates 
them  for  the  performance  of  labor  in  such  a  degree  as  to  ren- 
der them  unable  to  earn  a  support,  and  who  are  dependent 
upon  their  daily  labor  for  support,  shall,  upon  making  due 
proof  of  the  fact  according  to  such  rules  and  regulations  as  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  may  provide  in  pursuance  of  this  act, 
be  placed  on  the  list  of  invalid  pensioners  of  the  United  States, 
and  be  entitled  to  receive,  for  such  total  inability  to  procure 
their  subsistence  by  daily  labor,  twelve  dollars  per  month." 

This  bill  was  passed  to  meet  the  cases  of  parents  who  were 
not  actually  dependent  upon  their  sons  for  support  at  the  time 
the  sons  enlisted,  but  who  have  since  been  deprived  of  other 
means  of  support  than  their  own  labor.  All  such  parents 
are  now  aged  persons,  and  very  many  are  in  extreme  poverty, 
who  would  be  dependent  upon  their  sons  who  gave  their  lives 
to  the  country,  if  such  sons  were  now  living. 

The  other  and  more  numerous  class  of  cases  which  this  bill 
was  passed  to  relieve,  is  that  of  soldiers  and  sailors  \#io  are 
without  property  and  so  disabled  or  infirm  that  they  cannot 
earn  their  subsistence  by  labor,  but  who  are  unable  to  prove 
that  their  present  disability  is  the  result  of  injury  received,  or 
disease  contracted  in  the  service.  The  relief  extended  to  this 
class  of  soldiers  and  sailors  by  the  bill,  proceeds  upon  the 
ground  that  the  nature  of  the  service  was  such  that  constitu- 
tions were  impaired  and  premature  disability  caused  in  numer- 
ous cases  where  the  same  cannot  be  directly  traced  by  evidence, 


414  THE  RECORD  OF 

as  now  required  In'  law.  It  is  also  maintained  by  the  Repub- 
licans in  Congress  that  aside  from  the  presimiption  that  present 
disability  is  really  due  in  many  cases  to  the  etiects  of  the  service, 
a  furtlier  reward  is  due  to  the  soldiers  who  saved  the  Nation,  and 
that  tlie  Nation  is  bound  in  gratitude  and  honor  to  provide  for 
all  its  defenders,  when  through  advancing  years  and  natural 
decay  they  become  unable  to  support  themselves.  The  passage 
of  this  bill  was  demanded  by  the  general  voice  of  the  veterans 
of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  President  Cleveland  vetoed  tliis 
bill  on  February  ii,  1SS7. 

The  President  argued  in  his  veto  message  that  the  bill  was 
substantially  a  service  pension  bill,  and  suggested  that  our  sol- 
diery, "  in  their  pay  and  bounty,  received  such  compensation 
f(jr  military  service  as  has  ne\er  been  received  by  soldiers 
before,  since  mankind  first  went  to  war."  He  also  advised 
Congress  to  "  meditate  somewhat  "  upon  the  probable  cost, 
and  expressed  the  opinion  that  it  would  prevent  a  reduction  of 
the  tariff  which  he  claimed  the  people  demaiuled. 

The  Committee  on  Invalid  Pensions  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives to  whom  was  referred  the  President's  veto  mes- 
sage, unanimously  recommended  that  the  bill  be  passed,  not- 
withstanding the  olijections  of  the  President  ;  and  a  large 
majority  of  the  House  voted  to  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto,  but 
as  most  of  the  Southern  DemiKrats,  including  many  who 
served  in  tlic  rebel  arnn',  \<)te(l  to  sustain  the  veto,  the  bill 
failed  to  receive   the  recjuired  two-tliirds  vote. 

The  Rejjublicans  voted  to  pass  the  bill  over  the  veto. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress,  which  opened  on 
the  first  Monday  in  December,  1887,   the  Republican  Senate 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  415 

passed  anotherbill,  granting  pensions  to  ex-soldiers  and  sailors 
who  are  incapacitated  for  the  performance  of  manual   labor, 
and  providing  for  pensions  to  dependent  relatives   of  deceased 
soldiers   and  sailors.      The  bill  was  essentially   like  the  one 
vetoed,   except  that  the  incapacity   for   manual  labor  was  re- 
quired to  be   "  total."       The   rate  of  pension    to    a    disabled 
soldier  or  sailor  was   $12  per  month,   as   in   the  vetoed  bill. 
This  bill  came  down  from  the  Senate  to  the  House  March  10, 
1888,  and  on   the    14th   of  April,    1888,   was    reported   to   the 
House  by  the   Committee   on   Invalid    Pensions    with   certain 
amendments,  which  the  Democratic  majority  of  the  committee 
had  agreed  to.     The  principal  of  these  amendments  was  one 
changing  the  rate  of  pensions  from  $12  per  month  to  one  cent 
per  month  for  each  day's  service  in  the  military  or   naval   ser- 
vice of  the  United  States.      Another  amendment  gives  every 
soldier  and  sailor  who  has  attained  the  age  of  sixty-two  years 
a  pension  at  the  rate  aforesaid.     This  last  pension  has  not  been 
asked  for  by  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  which  has  peti- 
tioned for  the  pensioning  of  those  incapacitated  for  labor,  and 
the  Republican   minority  of  the   committee   dissent  from  this 
mere  sei'vice  pension  as  compromising  the  interests  of  the  dis- 
abled and  suffering  veterans.       The  Republican  minority  also 
dissent  strongly  from  the  proposal  of  the  Democrats,  to  pay  a 
less  pension  than  $12  per   month  to   any  disabled  soldier  or 
sailor.     Under  the  Democratic  amendment  a  soldier  who   had 
served  three  months  would  get  ninety  cents  a   month  ;   if  six 
months,   $i.So;     if  nine  months,   $2.70;     if  twelve   months, 
$3.60;   if  twenty-four  months,  $7.20;    if  three  years,  $10. So. 
Such  a  provision   would  be   inadequate  and  contemptible. 


4i6  THE  RECORD  OF 

but  it  is  the  offering  of  the  Democrats  of  the  House   commit- 
tee to  the  disabled  soldiers  of  the  Republic. 
The  Republican  minority  say  in  their  report  : 

"  It  is  variously  estimated  that  there  are  in  almshouses  from 
ten  to  twenty  thousand  of  the  men  who  patriotically  responded 
to  the  call  of  the  government,  and  bravely  fought  for  the  pres- 
ervation of  the  Union.  Had  it  not  been  for  these  men  and 
others  like  them,  the  Union  would  have  been  destroyed  and 
the  government  overthrown.  That  a  single  one  of  these  men 
should  be  the  object  of  public  charity,  unless  perchance  the 
destitution  which  has  overtaken  him  is  the  result  of  his  own 
misconduct,  is  a  reproach  and  shame  to  this  great  government, 
the  treasury  of  which  is  groaning  under  a  rapidly  accumulating 
surplus." 

Unless  President  Cleveland  is  defeated  for  reelection,  and 
the  Republicans  restored  to  power  in  Congress,  there  is  small 
hope  that  justice  will  be  done  to  the  soldiers  of  the  Union. 

An  instructive  contrast  is  presented  by  the  attitude  of  Gen- 
eral Washington  and  that  of  Mr.  Cleveland.  A  committee  of 
our  army  in  177S  called  upon  Washington  and  made  known 
their  demands  and  sufferings.  In  his  address  to  them  he  replied  : 

"  It  is  not  indeed  consistent  with  reason  or  justice  to  expect 
that  one  set  of  men  should  make  a  sacrifice  of  property, 
domestic  ease,  and  happiness,  encounter  the  rigors  of  the  field, 
the  perils  and  vicissitudes  of  war,  to  obtain  those  blessings 
which  every  citizen  will  enjoy  in  common  with  them  without 
some  adequate  compensation.  It  must  also  be  a  comfortless 
reflection  to  any  man  that  after  he  may  have  contributed  to 
securing  the  rights  of  his  country,  at  the  risk  of  life  and  the 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  417 

ruin  of  his  fortune,  there  would  be  no  provision  made  to  pre- 
vent himself  and  family  from  sinking  into  indigence  and 
wretchedness."  — Jotirnalof  Congress^  volume  IV. ,  page  211. 

President  Cleveland  has  also  vetoed  a  very  large  number  of 
special  pension  bills,  passed  by  Congress  for  the  relief  of  dis- 
abled soldiers  or  their  needy  dependents.  These  vetoes  in 
nearlv  every  instance  have  been  based  upon  frivolous  and 
heartless  reasons,  and  have  aroused  throughout  the  country  the 
intense  indignation  of  all  well-informed  and  right-minded  per- 
sons. Attempt  has  been  made  to  claim  for  the  President 
special  credit  for  courage  and  a  disposition  to  protect  the 
treasury  against  reckless  pension  legislation  by  Congress.  The 
record  will  not  sustain  this  theory.  Wherever  the  merits  of 
these  pension  bills  and  the  cruel  vetoes  have  been  discussed, 
the  sober  judgment  of  the  people  condemns  the  course  of  the 
President. 

It  is  a  petty  and  unprecedented  use  of  the  veto  power,  to 
nullify  the  act  of  Congress  in  granting  a  pension  to  a  needy 
soldier  or  his  dependents.  These  pensions  are  never  granted 
without  careful  consideration,  by  the  committees  of  Congress, 
of  sworn  evidence  in  support  of  the  claim,  and  the  bill  in  each 
case  originates  with  a  representative  of  the  people,  who  has 
the  best  opportunity  for  knowing  what  the  real  merits  of  the 
case  are. 

Mr.  Cleveland's  vetoes  have  been  based  upon  a  hasty  and 
unadvised  reading  of  the  evidence,  and  the  vetoes  themselves 
exhibit  a  narrow  and  ungenerous  spirit.  Mr.  Cleveland  v^-as 
not  a  soldier,  nor  were  his  sympathies  with  the  great  cause 
for  which  the  soldiers  fought. 

27 


Chapter  VII. 


CIVIL  SERVICE  REFORM. 

The  President's  Promises. 

A  DELUSION  AND  A  SHAM  UNDER  PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND'S  ADMINIS- 
TRATION  THE  president's  PROMISES THE  PRESIDENT'S  PER- 
FORMANCE. 

Both  the  Republican  and  Democratic  platforms  of  1SS4 
recognized  the  growing  demand  among  the  people  for  civil 
service  reform. 

The  Democratic  declaration  was  : 

"We  favor  honest  civil  service  reform." 

The  Repulilican  declaration  was  mucli  more  explicit,  and 
was  in  these  words  : 

"  Reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun  imder 
Republican  administration,  should  be  completed  by  the  further 
extension  of  the  reform  system,  already  establislied  by  law,  to 
all  the  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable.  The 
spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be  observed  in  all 
executive  appointments,  and  all  laws  at  variance  with  the 
objects  of  existing  reform  legislation  should  be  repealed  to  the 
end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the 
power  of  official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  eiTcctively 
avoided." 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  419 

An  especial  effort  was  made  by  Mr.  Cleveland,  when  a  can- 
didate for  the  Presidency,  to  secure  the  support  of  the  ardent 
friends  of  civil  service  reform.  His  letter  of  acceptance  con- 
tained these  words  : 

"When  we  consider  the  patronage  of  this  great  office,  the 
allurements  of  power,  the  temptation  to  retain  public  places 
once  gained,  and,  more  than  all,  the  availability  a  party  finds 
in  an  incumbent  when  a  horde  of  office-holders  with  a  zeal 
born  of  benefits  received,  and  fostered  by  the  hope  of  favors 
yet  to  come,  stand  ready  to  aid  with  money  and  trained  politi- 
cal service,  we  recognize  in  the  eligibility  of  the  President  for 
reelection  a  most  serious  danger  to  that  calm,  deliberate,  and 
intelligent  political  action  which  must  characterize  a  govern- 
ment by  the  people. 

"  The  people  pay  the  wages  of  the  public  employes,  and 
they  are  entitled  to  the  fair  and  honest  work  which  the  money 
thus  paid  should  command.  It  is  the  duty  of  those  intrusted 
with  the  management  of  these  affairs  to  see  that  such  public 
service  is  forthcoming.  The  selection  and  retention  of  sub- 
ordinates in  government  employment  should  depend  upon 
their  ascertained  fitness  and  the  value  of  their  work,  and  they 
should  be  neither  expected  nor  allowed  to  do  questionable 
party  sei'vice.  The  interests  of  the  people  will  be  better  pro- 
tected ;  the  estimate  of  public  labor  and  duty  will  be  immensely 
improved  ;  public  employment  will  be  open  to  all  who  can 
demonstrate  their  fitness  to  enter  it.  The  unseemly  scramble 
for   place  vnider  the    government,  with  the  consequent  impor- 


420  THE  RECORD  OF 

tunity  which  embitters  official  life,  will  cease,  and  the  public 
departments  will  not  be  filled  with  those  who  conceive  it  to 
be  their  first  duty  to  aid  the  party  to  which  they  owe  their 
places,  instead  of  rendering  patient  and  honest  return  to  the 
people." 

Subsequent  to  the  election,  and  before  his  inauguration,  on 
December  25,  1884,  Mr.  Cleveland,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  George 
William  Curtis,  used  the  following  language  to  assure  him  of 
his  good  intentions  respecting  the  civil  sen-ice. 

His  letter  was  called  forth  by  a  letter  of  Mr.  Curtis'  inquir- 
ing as  to  the  policy  the  President-elect  intended  to  pursue  in 
the  matter  of  removals  from  office. 

"I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  to  which  you  refer,  that 
many  of  our  citizens  fear  that  the  recent  party  change  in  the 
national  Executive  may  demonstrate  that  the  abuses  which 
have  grown  up  in  the  civil  service  are  ineradicable.  I  know 
that  they  are  deeply  rooted,  and  that  the  spoils  system  has  been 
supposed  to  be  intimately  related  to  success  in  the  maintenance 
of  party  organization,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  all  those  who 
profess  to  be  the  friends  of  this  reform  will  stand  firmly  among 
its  advocates  when  they  find  it  obstructing  their  way  to  patron- 
age and  place.  But  fully  appreciating  the  trust  committed  to 
my  charge,  no  such  consideration  shall  cause  a  relaxation  on 
my  part  of  an  earnest  efibrt  to  enforce  this  law. 

"  If  I  were  addressing  none  but  party  friends,  I  should  deem 
it  entirely  proper  to  remind  them  that,  though  the  coming  ad- 
ministration is  to  be  Democratic,  a  due  regard  for  the  people's 
interest    does  not    permit    faithful   party    work    to    be    always 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  421 

rewai-ded  by  appointment  to  office  ;  and  to  say  to  them  that 
while  Democrats  may  expect  all  proper  consideration,  selec- 
tions for  office,  not  embraced  within  the  civil-service  rules,  will 
be  based  upon  sufficient  inquiry  as  to  fitness,  instituted  by 
those  charged  with  that  duty,  rather  than  upon  persistent  im- 
portunity or  self-solicited  recommendations  on  behalf  of  can- 
didates for  appointment." 

In  his  inaugural  address  delivered  March  4,  1S85,  the  Presi- 
dent makes  the  following  declarations  of  his  views  as  to  reform  : 

"  The  people  demand  reform  in  the  administration  of  the 
government  and  the  application  of  business  principles  to  pub- 
lic afiairs.  As  a  means  to  this  end,  civil-service  reform  should 
be  in  good  faith  indorsed.  Our  citizens  have  the  right  to  pro- 
tection from  the  incompetency  of  public  employes  who  hold 
their  places  solely  as  the  reward  of  partisan  service,  and  from 
the  corrupting  influence  of  those  who  promise,  and  the  vicious 
methods  of  those  who  expect,  such  rewards  ;  and  those  who 
worthily  seek  employment  have  the  right  to  insist  that  merit 
and  competency  shall  be  recognized  instead  of  party  subservi- 
ency or  the  surrender  of  honest  political  belief." 

The  President's  first  annual  message  to  Congress,  of  Decem- 
ber 8,  1885,  further  discussed  the  subject  as  follows  : 

"lam  inclined  to  think  that  there  is  no  sentiment  more 
general  in  the  minds  of  the  people  of  our  country  than  a  con- 
viction of  the  correctness  of  the  principle  upon  which  the  law 
enforcing  civil  service  reform  is  based. 

"Experience  in  its  administration  will  probably  suggest 
amendment  of  the  methods  of  its  execution,  but  I  venture  to 


422  THE  RECORD  OF 

hope  that  we  shall  never  again  be  remitted  to  the  system  which 
distributes  public  positions  purely  as  rewards  for  partisan  ser- 
vice. Doubts  may  well  be  entertained  whether  our  govern- 
ment could  survive  the  strain  of  a  continuation  of  this  system, 
which  upon  every  change  of  administration  inspires  an  im- 
mense army  of  claimants  for  office  to  lay  siege  to  the  patron- 
age of  the  government,  engrossing  the  time  of  public  officers 
with  their  importunities,  spreading  abroad  the  contagion  of 
their  disappointment,  and  filling  the  air  with  the  tumult  of 
their  discontent. 

"  The  allurements  of  an  immense  number  of  offices  and 
places  exhibited  to  the  voters  of  the  land,  and  the  promise  of 
their  bestowal  in  recognition  of  partisan  activity,  debauch  the 
suffi-age  and  rob  political  action  of  its  thoughtful  and  delibera- 
tive character.  The  evil  would  increase  with  the  multiplica- 
tion of  offices  consequent  upon  our  extension,  and  the  mania 
for  office-holding,  growing  from  its  indulgence,  would  pervade 
our  population  so  generally  that  patriotic  purpose,  the  support 
of  principle,  the  desire  for  the  public  good,  and  solicitude  for 
the  nation's  welfare  would  l)e  nearly  banished  from  the  activ- 
ity of  our  party  contests  and  cause  tliem  to  degenerate  into 
ignoble,  selfish,  and  disgraceful  struggles  for  the  possession  of 
office  and  public  place. 

"Civil-service  reform  enforced  by  law  came  none  too  soon 
to  check  the  progress  of  demoralization. 

"  One  of  its  efiects,  not  enough  regarded,  is  the  freedom  it 
brings  to  the  political  action  of  those  conservative  and  sober 
men  who,  in  fear  of  the  confusion  and  risk  attending  an  arbi- 
bitrary  and  sudden  change  in  all  the  public  offices  with  a 
change  of  parly  rule,  cast  their  ballots  against  such  a  change." 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 
The  President's  Performance. 


423 


Senator  Hale,  of  Maine,  in  a  speech  delivered  in  the  Senate, 
January  11,  1888,  presented  the  following  table,  which  he  de- 
clared "  was  carefully  made  up  to  June  11,  1887,  from  figures 
furnished  by  the  departments."  It  shows  that  at  that  time  the 
President  had  nearly  effected  a  "  clean  sweep  "  of  the  offices  : 


OFFICES. 


Places  filled 
by  Cleveland. 


Whole  num- 
ber of  places. 


Presidential  postmasters,  (estimated)... 

Fourth-class,  (estimated)   

Foreign  ministers 

Secretaries  of  Legation 

Consuls 

Collectors  of  customs 

Surveyors  of  customs 

Naval  officers  of  customs 

Appraisers,  all  grades 

Superintendents  of  mints  and  assayers. 
Assistant  treasurers  at  sub-treasuries. . . 

Col  lectors  of  internal  reven  ue 

Inspectors  of  steam  vessels  

District  attorneys 

Marshals 

Territorial  judges 

Territorial  governors 

Pension  agents 

Surveyors-general 

Local  land  officers 

Indian  inspectors  and  special  agents. . . 

Indian  agents 

Special  agents.  General  Land  Office. . . 
Total 


3,000 
40,000 

32 
16 
138 
100 

33 
6 

34 
II 

9 

84 

S 

6S 
64 
22 

9 
16 
16 

190 

9 

S' 

79 


42,992 


2  359 

52,609 

33 

21 

219 

III 

33 
6 
36 
13 

9 
S.S 
II 
70 
70 
30 

9 

iS 

16 

224 


59 

S3 

56,134 


424  THE  RECORD  OF 

And  ever  since  June,  18S7,  Mr.  Cleveland  has  been  steadily 
appointing  Democrats  to  fill  places  in  the  civil  service  still 
held  by  Republicans,  so  that  when  nominated  for  reelection  at 
St.  Louis,  very  few  Republicans  remained  in  office. 

From  Senator  Hale's  speech  we  extract  the  following  pas- 
sages, still  further  illustrating  the  infidelity  of  Mr.  Cleveland  to 
the  pledges  which  he  gave  as  candidate  and  as  President : 

"  The  difierence  between  word  and  deed  is  clearly  shown  in 
the  case  of  Secretary  Lamar,  who  took  occasion  in  April  last 
to  commend  John  C.  Calhoun  for  his  opposition  to  the  spoils 
system,  and  to  congratulate  himself  upon  belonging  to  an 
Administration  that  was  engaged  in  carrying  out  the  policy 
that  Calhoun  advocated. 

"The  stern  facts  are  that  in  the  service  over  which  Mr. 
Lamar  has  presided  every  territorial  governor  has  been 
removed  ;  sixteen  out  of  eighteen  pension  agents  ;  every  single 
surveyor-general;  four-fifths  of  the  local  land  officers;  niiie- 
tenths  of  the  inspectors  and  special  agents  of  the  Indian  ser- 
vice ;  fifty-one  out  of  Jlfty-nine  Indian  agents;  seventy-nine 
out  of  eighty-three  special  agents  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
and  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  special  examiners  of  the  Pen- 
sion Office.  But  Secretary  Lamar  to-day  stands  on  record  as 
against  the  spoils  system  and  takes  high  rank  as  a  reformer. 

"  If  I  were  not  consuming  too  much  time,  Mr.  President,  I 
could  select  from  the  figures  which  are  before  me  other  depart- 
ments of  the  government,  not  covered  by  the  table  which  I 
have  presented,  showing  this  conquering  march  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  pursuit  of  the  offices. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  425 

"In  all  the  departments  in  Washington-  are  found  able  and 
honest  men,  who  have  given  their  lives  to  the  service  of  the 
government.  They  have  begun  as  clerks  in  the  lower  grades 
and  have  been  steadily  promoted  until  they  have  at  last  reached 
the  highest  places  to  which  they  may  reasonably  aspire.  They 
were  found,  when  the  reform  Democratic  administration  came 
into  power,  as  chief  clerks  and  chiefs  of  divisions.  They 
made  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  departments,  and,  one  would 
suppose,  should  be  considered  as  almost  indispensable.  In 
the  Treasury  Department  there  are  seventy-nine  chief  clerks 
and  chiefs  of  divisions,  and  up  to  June,  1SS7,  sixty-six  of  these 
seventy-nine  had  been  changed.  In  not  more  than  a  half  a 
dozen  cases  the  person  appointed  was  a  promoted  clerk.  The 
introduction  into  this  force  was  almost  entirely  from  the  out- 
side. Every  deputy  auditor,  deputy  comptroller,  and  deputy 
commissioner  of  internal  revenue  has  been  changed.  In  many 
cases  chiefs  of  divisions  have  been  reduced  in  grade,  and  new 
men,  from  the  outside  world,  of  the  Democratic  party,  have 
been  appointed.  In  more  than  one  case  the  head  of  a  division 
has  been  reduced  to  a  lower  clerkship  and  the  Democratic  pol- 
itician has  been  appointed  in  his  place,  and  the  old  incumbent, 
in  his  reduced  grade  and  at  his  reduced  pay,  is  performing  all 
his  old  work,  and  the  new  incumbent  does  practically  nothing. 
But  this  is  civil  service  reform. 

"  Let  us  now^,  Mr.  President,  turn  to  the  other  side  of  this 
subject  of  reform  in  the  civil  service,  that  which  relates  to  the 
offensive  participation  of  office-holders  in  politics.  That  this 
should  not  be  permitted  in  any  well-regulated  civil  service 
goes  without  saying.     The  President  saw  this  clearly,. ^rid  his 


426  THE  RECORD  OF 

utterances  in  relation  to  it  are  as  clear  and  distinct  as  they  were 
upon  appointments  and  removals. 

'*  I  have  already  quoted  from  his  letter  of  acceptance,  in 
which  he  deprecated  the  existence  of  'a  horde  of  ofHce-hold- 
ers,  with  a  zeal  born  of  benefit  received,  and  fostered  by  the 
hope  of  favors  yet  to  come,  who  stand  ready  to  aid  with 
money  and  trained  political  services'  the  party  to  which  they 
belong.  And  we  have  seen  further  his  declarations,  after 
assuming  his  high  office,  of  the  things  which  he  believed  to 
constitute  a  true  civil  service  reform,  namely  : 

"  The  separation  of  the  offices  from  politics,  the  non-participation  of 
office-holders  in  elections  and  conventions. 

"  During  the  first  year  of  the  President's  administration,  and 
as  the  time  approached  for  the  campaign  which  preceded  the 
State  and  Congressional  elections  in  iSS6,  it  was  discovered 
that  things  were  going  on  in  the  Democratic  party  very  much 
after  its  old  fashion.  The  men  in  office  were  '  manipulating 
conventions,' '  fixing  nominations,'  and  taking  upon  themselves 
the  conduct  of  the  campaign  generally.  So  apparent  was  this 
in  Maryland,  in  Indiana,  in  Kentucky,  in  New  York,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  in  other  contested  states,  that  a  voice  of  com- 
plaint was  heard,  not  from  the  Democrats,  who  desired  this 
condition  of  things,  nor  from  the  Republicans,  who  expected 
it,  but  from  the  '  Independents,'  who  had  contributed  to  the 
President's  election,  and  who  now  were  fain  to  admit  that 
matters  were  not  going  to  suit  them. 

"The  President  was  ready,  as  usual,  with  letters  of  assur- 
ances, and  with  proclamations  tending  to  appease  the  discon- 
tent of  his  '  Independent '  allies. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  427 

"  The  statute  which  I  have  recited  in  the  resolution  upon 
which  I  am  speaking  is  definitive  and  explicit  in  its  terms, and 
its  passage  by  a  Republican  Congress,  and  ppproval  by  a  Re- 
publican President,  as  I  have  said,  was  folio ved  by  a  complete 
change  in  the  organization  of  tlie  party,  all  men  holding  Fed- 
eral office  disappearing  from  its  committees  and  staff  of  polit- 
ical workers. 

"  On  the  fourteenth  day  of  July,  1S86,  the  President  issued 
his  famous  order  from  the  Executive  Mansion  in  Washington, 
'  To  the  heads  of  the  departments  in  the  service  of  the  gen- 
eral government.'  As  this  whole  proclamation  has  been  read 
from  the  desk  of  the  Secretary,  I  will  not  here  take  up  the 
time  of  the  Senate  by  repeating  it.  In  it  the  President  declares 
that  his  purpose  is  '  to  warn  all  subordinates  in  the  several 
departments  and  all  office-holders  under  the  general  govern- 
ment, against  the  use  of  their  official  positions  in  attempts  to 
control  political  movements  in  their  localities.'  In  it  he 
declares  that  '  office-holders  are  the  agents  of  the  people  — 
not  their  masters.'  In  it  he  warns  Federal  officials  against 
'  offending,  by  a  display  of  obtrusive  partisanship,  their  neigh- 
bors who  have  relations  with  them  as  public  officials.'  In  it 
he  declares  that  '  they  have  no  right  as  office-holders  to  dictate 
the  political  action  of  their  party  associates.'  In  it  he  declares 
that  the  duty  of  the  office-holder  to  his  party  is  '  not  increased 
to  pernicious  activity  by  office-holding.' 

"  These  plain  declarations  of  the  President  form  a  policy 
under  which,  if  properly  followed,  the  civil  service  of  the 
country  would  indeed  be  divorced  from  politics.  The  Inde- 
pendents felt  this  and,   taking    new  courage  from  the  Presi- 


428  THE  RECORD  OF 

dent's  declarations,  and  forgetting  how  far  the  performance 
had  fallen  short  of  his  promises  in  appointments  and  removals, 
still  clung,  in  many  cases,  to  the  Democratic  organization. 

"  The  Civil  Service  Commissioners,  or  at  least  two  of  them, 
interpreted  the  statute  in  accordance  with  the  President's 
instruction,  and  this  added  weight  to  the  executive  direction. 
But  the  leaders  and  the  masses  of  the  Democratic  party  felt  by 
this  time  that  they  clearly  understood  the  situation,  and  at  this 
point  begins  to  be  clearly  marked  the  change  of  tone  among 
these  leaders  in  their  comments  upon  the  President.  They 
realized  fully  that  in  view  of  coming  elections  the  party  must 
ride  two  horses  ;  that  the  President  was  to  steadily  maintain  in 
all  his  public  declarations  the  cause  of  civil-service  reform, 
with  the  view  of  retaining  the  support  of  the  Independents  ; 
but  that,  as  in  the  case  of  appointments  and  removals,  no  real 
obstruction  was  to  be  placed  in  the  way  of  any  and  every 
office-holder  participating,  whenever  he  chose,  in  caucuses 
and  conventions  and  in  the  elections  which  followed. 

"  In  the  Indiana  election,  in  November,  iSS6,  the  participa- 
tion of  Federal  office-holders  in  the  primaries,  and  subsequently 
in  the  election,  raised  a  scandal  of  which  papers  in  that  State, 
at  the  time  and  afterw'ards,  were  full.  In  the  closely-con- 
tested districts  these  men  left  their  business  and  their  homes, 
and  devoted  themselves  to  secin'ing  the  nomination  and  election 
of  the  members  to  whom  they  had  owed  their  appointments. 
In  the  Matson  district,  in  the  Ilolman  district,  and  especially  in 
the  Fort  Wayne  district,  the  intrusion  of  Federal  office-holders 
into  every  stage  of  the  canvass  previous  to  the  nominating  con- 
ventions   and   elections  was  so  oH'ensive    that    honest   people 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  429 

revolted  and  defeated  the  Democratic  candidate.  Whoever 
will  read  the  testimony  offered  in  the  Lowry -White  contested- 
election  case  will  find  ample  proof  of  this  statement. 

"When  1S87  came  round  the  President's  declarations  and 
proclamations  were  treated  as  waste-paper,  and  the  President 
himself  seems  by  this  time  to  have  fallen  into  such  harmony 
with  the  spirit  of  his  party  that  he  not  only  acquiesced  in  this 
wholesale  disregard  of  his  previously  expressed  sentiments  and 
directions,  but  himself  joined  in  the  movement.  His  most 
intimate  friends,  both  in  and  out  of  office,  took  charge  of  the 
conduct  of  conventions  and  elections  in  the  year  which  was 
considered  as  having  so  close  a  bearing  in  its  results  upon  the 
great  coming  battle  of  1S8S. 

"At  the  Saratoga  meeting  of  the  Democratic  state  com- 
mittee of  New  York,  when  the  preliminaries  of  what  then 
looked  like  the  dawning  contest  between  the  national  adminis- 
tration and  the  state  administration  were  to  be  settled,  Deputy 
Collector  John  A.  Mason  and  Second  Auditor  William  F. 
Creed,  of  the  New  York  Custom-house,  were  most  prominent 
and  active. 

"At  the  Pennsylvania  State  convention  more  than  forty  of 
the  Federal  officials  of  that  State  appeared  to  marshal  the 
forces  of  the  administration.  The  names  of  some  of  these 
have  been  furnished  me  as  taken  from  a  Democratic  news- 
paper:  E.  J.  Bigler,  collector  of  internal  revenue;  D.  O. 
Barr,  sui-veyor  of  the  port  of  Pittsburgh  ;  McVey  and  Ryan, 
special  treasury  agents  ;  Fletcher,  chief  clerk  in  a  bureau  of 
the  Navy  Department ;  Glozier,  hull  inspector  ;  Guss,  oleo- 
margarine inspector  ;   Chester,  Warren,  and  Bancroft,  from  the 


430  THE  RECORD  OF 

Philadelphia  mint,  and  many  others.  In  Baltimore  the  naval 
officer,  the  appointment  clerk,  Higgins,  and  Indian  Inspector 
Thomas,  Customs  Agent  Mahon,  Postmaster  Brown  and  his 
assistant.  United  States  marshal  and  deputies,  dejiuty  collector 
of  internal  revenue,  and  a  host  of  clerks,  inspectors,  and 
janitors  monopolized  the  direction  of  the  entire  campaign. 

"  I  might  go  on  and  give  like  instances  in  other  states,  but 
I  leave  that  to  be  more  fully  brought  out  by  the  committee 
which  I  hope  will  take  this  matter  in  charge. 

"Mr.  Ilawley. — May  I  make  an  inquiry.'' 

"Mr.  Hale.  — Certainly. 

"Mr.  Hawley.  —  Is  the  Senator  certain  that  these  men  have 
not  been  indignantly  and  virtuously  removed.^ 

"  Mr.  Hale.  — Not  only  have  I  yet  to  learn  of  a  removal  for 
such  action,  but  I  have  yet  to  learn  of  any  censure  being  visited 
upon  one  of  these  men.  I  do  not  know  of  a  case  where  the 
President  has  put  his  strong  hand  upon  these  men  and  made  it 
seen  that  he  meant  to  perform  what  he  had  promised.  In  fact,  so 
gross  was  the  violation  of  every  principle  of  reform  and  of  the 
President's  directions  and  pledges  that  even  the  Eve7ii)ig  Post 
declared  that  '  this  playing  fast  and  loose  with  orders  and 
promises,  which  the  President  is  now  permitting  among  those 
around  him,  will  be  used  in  the  campaign  with  terrible  eftect.' 
But  the  President  has  not  hesitated  to  ileal  deadly  blows  at  re- 
form with  his  own  hand.  A  remarkable  manifestation  of  the 
desire  of  the  people  for  a  practical  reform  in  the  selection  of 
important  officers  was  shown  in  the  city  of  New  York  previous 
to  the  last  election.  Public  suspicion  had  for  a  long  time 
rested  upon  officials  in  the  nnuiicipal  government,  and  had   at 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  431 

last  demanded  and  secured  an  investigation,  which  disclosed 
the  most  corrupt  and  shocking  practices  on  the  part  of  munici- 
pal officials,  implicating  them  and  well-known  parties  outside 
in  extensive  schemes  involving  corruption  and  bribery. 

"Public  indignation,  expressed  through  almost  the  entire  press 
of  New  York,  was  aroused,  the  intervention  of  the  courts  was 
sought,  and  from  time  to  time  trials  of  the  accused  had  pro- 
ceeded in  some  cases  to  conviction  of  the  criminals.  The 
work  was  by  no  means  completed,  and  as  the  time  for  the 
election  of  a  district  attorney  who  should  represent  the  State 
and  the  public  in  the  conduct  of  these  trials  came  near,  a  pro- 
nounced and  general  movement  grew  up  in  favor  of  the  selec- 
tion of  Mr.  Delancy  Nicoll,  an  able  and  brilliant  young  Dem- 
ocratic lawyer,  who  had  found  thrown  upon  him,  as  an  assist- 
ant in  the  district  attorney's  office,  the  burden  of  largely  man- 
aging and  conducting  the  hitherto  successful  prosecution  of 
these  cases. 

"  Nobody  claimed  that  the  movement  for  Mr,  Nicoll  had  its 
origin  in  any  party  preference.  It  came  from  the  people,  and 
the  demand  was  taken  up  by  the  newspapers.  With  few 
exceptions  the  Republican,  Democratic,  and  Independent  press 
demanded  the  nomination  and  election  of  Mr.  Nicoll  in  the 
interest  of  reform  and  good  government.  He  was  nominated 
by  different  independent  organizations,  indorsed  by  all  of  the 
civil-service-reform  associations  and  newspapers,  and,  although 
a  Democrat,  accepted  generally  by  the  Republicans. 

"  Here  was  a  plain,  spontaneous,  earnest,  honest  movement 
on  the  part  of  the  people  in  the  direction  of  reform.  It  would 
seem  to  have  been  political  wit  on  the  part  of  the  Democratic 


433  THE  RECORD  OF 

managers  in  New  York  City  to  have  accepted  this  movement 
and  to  have  joined  in  the  election  of  a  man  who  had  always 
been  a  Democrat,  but  whose  character  and  senices  were  so 
high  that  good  men  demanded  generally  that  he  should  be 
retained  in  the  public  service.  But,  as  I  have  said,  long  before 
this  the  Democratic  leaders  had  found  that  in  the  practical 
management  of  politics  they  were  in  the  saddle,  and  the  nom- 
inating conventions  of  the  two  branches  of  the  New  York 
Democracy  joined  in  rejecting  ]Mr.  Nicoll  and  in  setting  up  as 
his  opponent  an  old-fashioned,  worn,  bruised,  and  battered 
New  York  City  politician,  whose  personal  character  w^as  not 
high,  and  who  had  been  a  crony  of  and  a  beneficiary  at  the 
hands  of  Tweed  in  the  worst  days  of  New  York  City's  cor- 
ruptions. 

"  The  business  men  of  New  York,  the  Independents,  the 
Reformers,  and  Republicans  generally  accepted  the  issue,  and 
a  contest  almost  unequaled  in  intensity  and  bitterness  ensued. 
Here,  Senators,  was  the  opportunity  for  the  President  not  only 
to  say  but  to  do  something  for  reform.  If,  in  accordance  with 
his  declarations  in  favor  of  non-interference  of  Federal  office- 
holders in  elections,  he  had,  including  himself  as  the  head  of 
all  Federal  official  life,  determined  to  keep  aloof  from  the  con- 
test, he  still  might  in  many  ways  have  breathed  expressions 
giving  aid  and  comfort  to  the  men  in  New  York  City  who 
were  fighting  against  thieves  and  robbers  and  bribe-takers  and 
bribe-givers  in  the  interest  of  good  government.  All  of  the 
so-called  reform  element  in  New  York  City  that  had  hitherto 
adhered  to  the  President  looked  to  him   for  some   such  expres- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  433 

sion.  How  bitterly  were  they  disappointed  !  The  President 
was  now  completely  in  the  hands  of  the  party-leaders  in  New 
York,  whose  stern  rule  had  always  been  to  support  regular 
nominations,  and  to  shoot  down  bolters  and  deserters. 

"  While  the  contest  was  at  its  thickest,  and  men  everywhere 
throughout  the  country  turned  their  eyes  expectantly  upon  the 
result,  and  when  the  battle  had  become  one  of  national  im- 
portance, and  when  the  issues  were,  seemingly,  well  nigh 
evenly  balanced,  a  great  Tammany  Hall  ratification  meeting 
was  held  in  the  interest  of  Mr.  Fellows,  the  Tammany  Hall 
and  county  Democratic  candidate  for  district  attorney  in  oppo- 
sition to  Mr.  Nicoll.  I  have  before  me  a  full  report  of  the 
proceedings  of  this  meeting  and  of  the  parties  who  partici- 
pated therein.  Their  names  have  not  been  found  upon  the 
lists  of  any  civil-service-reform  association  heretofore  made 
known  to  the  public.  General  John  Cochrane  called  the 
meeting  to  order.  Congressman  S.  S.  Cox  presided.  State 
Senator  Raines,  of  Monroe,  was  followed  by  the  candidate. 
Colonel  Fellows,  and  Honorable  Charles  A.  Dana,  editor  of 
the  Sun.  Speeches  were  also  made  by  George  Blair  and 
Congressman  William  McAdoo,  of  New  Jersey.  The  follow- 
ing letter  was  read  : 

"  It  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  comply  with  jour  courteous  invita- 
tion to  meet  with  those  who    propose    to  ratify  to-morrow  evening  the 
nomination  of  the  united  Democracy.     With  a  hearty  wish  that  every 
candidate  on  your  excellent  ticket  m,ay  be  triumphantly  elected, 
"  I  am  yours  very  truly, 

"  Grover  Cleveland. 
28 


434  THE  RECORD  OF 

"  Of  this  attitude  of  the  President  Mr,  Carl  Schurz  said, 
only  a  few  days  later : 

"'What  malignant  enemy  of  President  Cleveland  was  it 
that  induced  Mr.  Cooper  to  extort  from  him  that  most  unfortu- 
nate letter,  intermeddling  in  New  York  City  politics  on  the  side 
of  the  typical  "  dead-beat"  '  ? 

"' I  shall  say  nothing  in  extenuation  of  the  fact  that  the 
President  permitted  himself  to  be  so  misused.  But  certain  it 
is  that  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  President  and  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  could  not  have  dealt  them  a  more  vicious  blow. 
For  more  than  thirty  years  I  have  been  an  attentive  observer  of 
political  events,  and  never,  never  have  I  witnessed  more  wan- 
ton recklessness  of  party  leaders,  sacrificing  the  interests  and 
good  name  of  a  great  municipality,  the  character  of  a  national 
administration,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  their  party  and 
cause,  to  their  blundering  folly  or  small  selfishness.' 

"Mr.  Schurz,  and  Mr.  Curtis,  and  Mr.  Dorman  B.  Eaton, 
and  the  select  body  of  Independents,  who  are  ranked  with 
them  in  sentiment  upon  this  subject  do  not  enjoy  this.  Not 
one  of  these  men  who  possesses  ordinary  discernment  can  fail 
to  see  that  the  whole  course  of  this  administration  on  this  sub- 
ject has  been  a  delusion  and  a  sham.  With  them  the  search- 
ing question  that  each  man  must  put  to  himself  will  now  be, 
'  How  long  shall  I  be  constrained  to  minister  to  and  uphold 
this  delusion,  this  sham.'" 

"  The  President  himself,  who,  I  am  bound  to  believe,  is  not 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY. 


435 


a  born  hypocrite,  does  not  enjoy  this  condition.  His  only  sat- 
isfaction must  be  that  he  is  getting  more  clearly  in  line  with 
his  party  and  its  leaders  and  the  sentiments  of  its  masses,  and 
that  in  the  time  to  come  he  will  be  called  on  to  make  no  more 
professions." 

No  administration  in  the  history  of  the  government  has  been 
more  distinctly  a  "spoils"  administration  than  that  of  Grover 
Cleveland. 

The  statesmen  of  the  Republican  party  recognize  the  need 
of  removing  as  far  as  possible  the  evils  of  patronage,  and  the 
Chicago  Convention  renewed  Republican  pledges  of  fidelity 
to  the  cause  of  reform  in  explicit  terms. 


Chapter  VIII. 


THE  FISHERIES  QJJESTION. 

THE  HONOR  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  INVOLVED  IN  THE  PROTECTION  OF 
THE  RIGHTS  OF  ITS  CITIZENS  —  NATIONAL  VALUE  OF  THE  FISHING 
INTEREST  —  TREATY  OF  1818 — CANADA  COVETS  OUR  MARKET  — 
CANADIAN  OUTRAGES  —  TREATY  OF  185^  —  TREATY  OF  WASHING- 
TON  THE  FISHERIES  AWARD MORE  OUTRAGES THE  DISGRACE- 
FUL   SURRENDER    OF    CLEVELAND    AND    BAYARD    TO    ENGLAND. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  at  Chicago  declared 
in  its  platform  : 

'"We  arraign  the  present  Democratic  administration  for  its 
weak  and  unpatriotic  treatment  of  the  fisheries  question,  and 
its  pusillanimous  surrender  of  the  essential  privileges  to  which 
our  fishing  vessels  are  entitled  in  Canadian  ports  under  the 
treaty  of  1818,  the  reciprocal  maritime  legislation  of  1S30,  and 
the  comity  of  nations,  and  which  Canadian  fishing  vessels 
receive  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States.  We  condemn  the 
policy  of  the  present  administration  and  the  Democratic  major- 
ity in  Congress  toward  our  fisheries  as  unfriendly  and  conspic- 
uously unpatriotic,  and  as  tending  to  destroy  a  valuable 
national  industry  and  an  indispensable  resource  of  defence 
against  a  foreign  enemy." 

The  fisheries  question  is  perhaps  but  little  understood, 
except  In  the  hardy  fishermen  of  New  England  whose  inter- 
ests are  directly  involved.      But  the  honor  of  the  Republic   is 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  437 

involved  when  the  rights  of  any  of  its  citizens  are  in  peril  or 
in  dispute ;  and  the  preservation  of  our  fishing  interests  is 
vitally  connected  with  the  defense  of  the  country  in  time  ot 
war.     Senator  Frye,  of  Maine,  declares  : 

"If  we  have  another  war,  it  will  be  on  the  ocean.  Who 
will  man  our  ships?  Eighty- five  per  cent,  of  the  sailors  on 
ships  in  the  foreign  trade  are  foreigners,  owing  the  Republic 
no  allegiance,  willing  to  render  her  no  service.  These  fisher- 
men are  eighty  per  cent.  American  citizens,  sixty-five  per  cent. 
American  birth  ;  inured  to  hardship,  constantly  exposed  to 
the  perils  of  the  sea,  brave,  skillful,  patriotic,  they  would 
respond  to  a  man  to  the  bugle-call  of  the  country.  Why 
should  not  the  Republic  stand  by  them  when  they  are  in  peril, 
when  they  are  suffering  wrong  at  the  hands  of  a  foreign 
power  ?  " 

England  spares  no  effort,  counts  no  cost,  when  the  liberty 
or  the  rights  of  her  subjects  are  in  danger,  but  her  military  and 
naval  power  is  instantly  put  forth  to  its  utmost  to  protect  the 
humblest  man  who  may  rightfully  claim  the  protection  of  her 
flag.  If  an  American  administration  has  been  neglectful  of 
the  honor  of  our  flag  and  the  rights  of  our  citizens,  it  is  cause 
for  the  popular  condemnation  of  that  administration.  What 
is  the  fisheries  question  ?  It  concerns  the  right  of  fishermen 
of  the  United  States  to  fish  in  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  and 
near  the  shore  of  the  northeastern  part  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  and  the  right  of  American  fishermen  to  resort  for 
shelter,  to  repair  damages,  to  purchase  wood  and  take  water, 

nd  for  other  commercial  privileges,  to  the  bays,  harbors,  and 


438  THE  RECORD  OF 

l^orts  of  Canada.  The  New  England  colonies,  under  the  flag 
of  England,  wrested  from  France  the  possession  of  the  Cana- 
dian provinces,  and  our  people  before  the  Revolution  had 
equal  rights  and  equal  enjoyment  with  Canadians  in  the  fish- 
eries along  the  shores  of  the  maritime  provinces  ;  and  after  the 
Revolution  we  continued  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  fisheries  in 
the  Northeastern  waters  down  to  i8iS.  In  iSiS  a  treatv  was 
made  between  the  United  States  and  England,  which  some- 
what restricted  our  fishery  rights. 

Article  I.  of  the  treaty  of  i8iS  contained  this  provision  : 

• 
"  And  the  United  States  hereby  renounce  forever  any  liberty 

heretofore  enjoyed  or  claimed    by  the   inhabitants  thereof,  to 

take,  dry,  or  cure  fish  on  or  within  three  marine  miles  of  any 

of     the    coasts,  bays,    creeks,    or    harbors    of    His    Britannic 

Majesty's    dominions    in    America,   not    included    within    the 

above  mentioned  limits." 

And  there  was  a  proviso  that  our  fishermen  might  enter  these 
bays,  etc.,  for  shelter  or  to  repair  damages,  to  purchase  wood 
and  take  water,  but  for  no  other  piu-pose  whatever. 

It  has  ever  been  a  source  of  regret  in  the  United  States  tliat 
our  government  consented  to  any  restriction  of  our  right  in 
these  fisheries,  which  were  acquired  bv  the  blood  of  our 
fathers.  We  sliould  at  least  be  disposed  on  every  occasion  to 
insist  upon  a  liberal  construction  of  the  treaty  of  iSiS,  and 
especially  should  we  resist  any  attempt  by  means  of  forced  and 
inireasonable  interpretations  to  deprive  us  of  any  of  the  rights 
preserved  to  us  bv  the  terms  (jf  tlie  treaty. 

As  time  wore  on  and  the  market   of  the   I'nited   States  be- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  439 

came  valuable,  Canada  desired  above  all  things  to  enter  our 
market,  and  in  order  to  drive  us  to  admit  her  into  our  market, 
she  permitted  her  people  to  commit  many  outrages  upon  our 
fishermen.  "  She  drove  our  vessels  to  sea  in  storms,  when 
they  had  sought  shelter,  seized  and  searched  them  on  the  high 
seas,  even  ;  placed  armed  men  on  board,  practically  making 
captives  of  their  captains  and  crews  in  their  own  vessels,  the 
American  flag  flying  over  them  ;  tried  them  in  the  colonial 
courts  on  the  testimony  of  colonial  witnesses,  and  confiscated 
one  after  another  ;  and  this  went  on  until,  indeed,  the  perils  of 
the  sea  on  these  Grand  Banks  were  no  greater  than  the  dangers 
of  the  law  on  the  shore." 

Presidents  Van  Buren  and  Pierce  sent  fleets  to  protect  our 
fishermen,  but  as  soon  as  our  war  vessels  were  withdrawn  the 
outrages  were  resumed.  Finally  England  sent  a  fleet,  and 
extorted  from  a  Democratic  administration  in  1854  a  treaty 
known  as  the  Reciprocity  Treaty,  under  which  we  were  per- 
mitted to  fish  within  these  Northeastern  waters,  Canadian 
fishermen  in  our  waters,  and  free  entry  to  our  market  for 
Canadian  fish  was  granted.  Canada  had  obtained  alljshe 
wanted.  At  the  end  of  twelve  years  the  United  States  abro- 
gated the  treaty  of  1854,  the  sentiment  in  this  country  being 
strongly  against  the  treaty.  Canada  then  imposed  heavy  taxes 
upon  our  vessels,  for  the  privilege  of  fishing  in  her  waters. 

In  1 87 1  the  treaty  of  Washington  was  made  between  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States.  This  treaty,  made  primarily  for 
the  purpose  of  settling  the  "  Alabama  Claims,"  included,  also, 
the  question  of  the  fisheries.     The  Canadians  were  committing 


440  THE  RECORD  OF 

outrages  again.  The  treaty  provided  for  the  free  entry  of  fish 
into  our  market,  and  gave  to  us  the  privilege  of  the  Canadian 
fisheries,  and  an  arbitration  was  provided  to  determine  whether 
any  sum  of  money  should  be  paid  by  the  United  States  for  the 
enjoyment  of  the  fisheries  during  the  term  of  twelve  years 
fixed  by  the  treaty,  in  addition  to  the  consideration  given  in 
admitting  Canadian  fish  to  our  market  free  of  duty.  England 
over-reached  us  in  the  selection  of  the  umpire,  and  secured  a 
prejudiced  tribunal,  and  an  award  of  $5,500,000  was  made 
against  the  United  States.  The  award  was  grossly  unfair,  the 
fact  being  that  the  duties  remitted  amounted  to  more  than  the 
value  of  the  fisheries.  We  paid  the  award,  but  not  without 
plain  speaking  in  Congress. 

James  G.  Blaine,  then  in  the  Senate,  exposed  on  the  floor 
of  the  Senate  the  chicane  by  which  we  had  been  beaten  in  the 
arbitration.  As  soon  as  the  terms  of  the  treaty  permitted,  the 
United  States  abrogated  it,  and  on  July  i,  1SS5,  we  again  had 
no  treaty  for  the  fisheries,  except  that  of  181S. 

Republican  statesmen  maintain  that  the  honorable  and  pru- 
dent course  for  us  to  have  then  adopted  was  to  negotiate  no 
more  treaties,  unless  one  to  abrogate  the  treaty  of  1818,  but  to 
stand  upon  our  rights  under  the  treaty  of  181S,  and  to  main- 
tain those  rights  with  all  the  power  of  the  Republic,  insisting 
at  the  same  time  that  general  commercial  privileges,  including 
the  right  to  purchase  supplies  at  any  time  and  to  tranship 
cargoes  in  Canadian  ports  should  be  granted  to  our  fishermen  ; 
and  that  if  such  privileges  were  denied  us,  we  should  retaliate 
bv  denying  similar  privileges  to  Canadian  vessels  of  all  sorts 
in  our  ports,  whicli  privileges  we  have  always  lield  ourselves 
bound  to  grant  by  the  comity  of  nations. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  441 

But  President  Cleveland,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  British 
Minister,  sent  a  message  to  Congress  recommending  that  it 
provide  for  a  commission  to  settle  the  fishery  rights.  The 
Senate  passed  a  resolution  declaring  that  such  a  commission 
ought  not  to  be  provided  for  by  Congress. 

The  suggestion  of  the  President  w^as  an  extraordinary  one, 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  treaty-making  power  is  vested  in 
the  President  and  Senate  alone. 

The  Canadians  now  recommenced  their  outrages  upon  our 
fishermen. 

Senator  Frye,  in  a  speech  before  the  Senate  on  the  29th  of 
May,  1888,  thus  describes  some  of  these  outrages  : 

"  Now,  in  this  open  session,  addressing  the  people  as  well 
as  the  Senate,  I  feel  it  necessary  to  reproduce  a  few  of  the  out- 
rages committed  by  Canada  on  our  fishermen.  I  am  not  cer- 
tain that  if  Senators  on  this  side  of  the  Chamber  listen  to  the 
recitals  once  more  they  will  feel  conscience-stricken  and  vote 
to  reject  the  treaty.  They  would  have  done  it  then.  Now, 
see  what  Canada  was  doing  to  us  in  1886.  In  the  month  of 
July,  as  the  American  schooners  Shiloh  a.nd  Julia  Ellen  were 
entering  the  harbor  of  Liverpool,  Nova  Scotia,  the  Canadian 
cruiser  Terror,  Captain  Qiiigley,  fired  a  gun  across  her  bows, 
to  hasten  their  coming  to,  and  placed  an  armed  guard  onboard 
each  vessel,  which  remained  there  until  the  vessels  left  the  har- 
bor ;  and  that  was  when  they  were  more  than  four  miles  from 
the  shore,  and  under  no  pretense  whatever  of  fishing.  Seventy- 
five  years  ago,  if  that  had  not  been  apologized  for,  there  would 
have  been  a  declaration  of  war. 


442  THE  RECORD  OF 

"More  than  four  miles  from  shore  an  armed  guard  put  on 
board,  our  captain  and  our  sailors  made  prisoners  of  war  on 
an  American  vessel  with  the  American  flag  at  the  masthead. 

"  The  schooner  Rattler^  of  Boston,  fully  laden  and  on  the 
voyage  home,  sought  shelter  from  stress  of  weather  in  Shel- 
burne  Harbor,  Nova  Scotia,  was  compelled  to  report  at  the 
custom  house  and  have  a  guard  of  armed  men  kept  on  board, 
there  being  no  suspicion  that  she  was  intending  to  fish  within 
the  three-mile  shore-line.  Sixty  million  people,  a  great,  mag- 
nificent Republic,  and  a  little  country  of  5,000,000  people 
putting  an  armed  guard  on  board  under  the  American  flag 
without  any  suspicion  of  any  violation  of  the  law  ! 

"In  August  the  MoUie  Adams,  of  Gloucester,  on  the  home- 
ward voyage,  full  laden  with  fish  from  the  fishing  banks,  was 
compelled  to  put  into  Port  Mulgrave  for  water,  and  duly  made 
report  and  entry  at  the  custom  house.  The  water  tank  had 
bursted  on  the  voyage  by  reason  of  heavy  weather.  The 
captain  asked  leave  to  purchase  two  or  three  barrels  to  hold  a 
supply  of  water  for  the  crew  on  their  homeward  voyage  of 
about  three  hundred  miles.  The  application  was  refused  and 
his  vessel  threatened  with  seizure  if  barrels  were  purchased. 
In  consequence  the  vessel  was  compelled  to  put  to  sea  with  an 
insufficient  supply  of  water,  and  in  trying  to  make  some  other 
port  to  obtain  a  supply,  encountered  a  severe  gale,  which 
swept  a\va\-  a  deck-load  of  fish  and  destroyed  two  seine  boats. 

"  Is  any  comment  necessary.^  If  that  vessel  under  the  same 
circumstances  had  penetrated  any  part  of  the  waters  of  the 
Fiji  Islands,  would  they  have  refused  her  a  tank  of  water? 

"  Again,  in  July  the  schooner  A.  R.   Criticfiden,  of  Glou- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  443 

cester,  on  the  homeward  voyage  from  the  open-sea  fishing- 
ground,  while  passing  through  the  Strait  of  Canso,  stopped  at 
Steep  Creek  for  water.  The  customs  officer  at  that  place 
boarded  the  vessel  and  notified  the  captain  that  if  he  took  in 
water  his  vessel  would  be  seized.  He  was  compelled  to  sail 
without  obtaining  the  needed  supply,  and  to  put  his  crew  on 
short  allowance  during  the  homeward  voyage,  notwithstanding 
the  treaty  of  iSiS  gave  him  a  clear  right  to  take  water,  and 
notwithstanding  the  dear  Lord  has  given  us  all  the  right  to 
take  water — 'a  cup  of  cold  water.'  Driven  to  sea  because 
the  poor  fellow  wanted  water  ! 

"  In  October  the  collector  at  Shelburne,  Nova  Scotia,  re- 
fused to  allow  Captain  Rose,  of  the  steamer  Laura  Sayxvard^ 
to  buy  sufficient  food  for  himself  and  crew  to  take  them  home, 
and  retained  his  papers  unnecessarily,  thus  compelling  him  to 
put  to  sea  with  an  inadequate  supply  of  provisions.  The  crew 
was  put  on  half  rations.  Why,  you  may  go  to  one  of  the 
islands  off  the  coast  of  China  and  say  to  those  half-civilized 
people,  '  I  am  out  of  food,  give  me  something  to  appease  my 
hunger,'  and  you  would  not  expect  to  find  men  barbarous 
enough  there,  or  anywhere  else  in  the  wide  world,  to  refuse. 
Yet  these  men  were  compelled  to  put  to  sea  on  short  allow- 
ance. 

"In  October  Captain  Tupper,  of  the  schooner  Jennie  Sea- 
vernSf  of  Gloucester,  was  prevented  by  Captain  Quigley,  of  the 
Canadian  cutter  Terror,  from  landing  to  visit  his  relatives  in  Liv- 
erpool, Nova  Scotia.  His  relatives  were  forbidden  to  go  on  board 
his  vessel  by  Captain  Quigley,  and  an  armed  guard  was  placed 
on  board  to  insure  that  he  should  not  see  his  relatives,  nor  they 


444  THE  RECORD  OF 

him,  making  him  piactically  a  prisoner  on  his  own  vessel  with 
the  American  flag  floating  at  its  masthead.  No  charge  that  he 
was  fishing,  no  charge  that  he  was  viohiting  the  law. 

"Now  take  the  N^oveltv.  vShe  is  a  fishing  steamer  I  should 
say  of  about  two-hundred  tons  burden.  She  had  been  out  to 
the  Banks  fishing.  She  came  into  Canadian  waters,  not  to  fish 
there.  Her  coal  fell  short ;  she  went  in  to  purchase  ;  the  officer 
refused  to  allow  her  to  do  so  ;  the  captain  appealed  to  the  terms 
of  the  treaty;  the  reply  was,  'the  treaty  said  "wood,"  not 
"  coal."'  And  they  would  not  let  him  have  any  coal.  He  ap- 
pealed to  the  authorities  in  Ottawa,  to  whom  a  right  of  appeal 
is  reserved  in  this  wonderful  treaty  now  under  consideration, 
and  the  authorities  at  Ottawa  replied  that  the  treaty  said  '  wood,' 
and  '  you  cannot  have  coal.'  They  threatened  seizure,  and  the 
captain  went  home,  giving  up  his  trip  entirely.  Wood,  not 
coal  !  There  was  not  a  vessel  sailed  the  sea  in  iSiS  that  did 
not  use  wood,  and  hardly  a  vessel  sails  to-day  that  does. 
Fishermen  do  not  use  wood  ;  they  all  use  coal  ;  and  yet  be- 
cause the  treaty  of  iSiS  said  'wood'  they  could  not  buy  any 
other  kind  of  fuel  ;  and  in  this  treaty  which  the  President  has 
sent  here  to  the  Senate,  and  heralded  as  generous  anil  equitable, 
our  commissioners  have  left  '  wood  '  to  stand,  and  to-day,  not- 
withstanding everybody  uses  coal,  no  one  can  get  any  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  for  his  fishing  vessel.  They  might  have 
obtained  that  concession  for  fuel,  one  would  have  supposed. 

"Take  the  case  of  the  Caroline  Vought.  She  was  a  fish- 
ing schooner  from  Boothbay,  Maine.  In  August,  being  on 
mackerel  grounds,  short  of  water,  she  ran  into  the  port  of 
Paspebiac,  New  Brunswick.     A  government  steamer  or  cruiser 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  445 

was  there.  Captain  Reid,  ordered  on  board,  stated  his  neces- 
sities, was  directed  to  leave  at  once  on  penalty  of  seizure. 
Fortunately  a  storm  came  on  and  he  caught  sufficient  rain- 
water to  save  his  crew  from  death.  He  carried  the  American 
flag. 

"  Now,  take  another  case,  and  this  is  a  very  remarkable  one, 
that  of  the  Mollie  Adams,  commanded  by  Captain  Solomon 
Jacobs.  When  oft' Mai  Peque,  Prince  Edward's  Island,  in  a 
heavy  blow  she  fell  in  with  the  Canadian  schooner  Neskelita 
in  distress.  The  Mollie  Ada^ns  had  her  full  load  of  fish.  She 
stopped  as  humanity  demanded  ;  she  rescued  seventeen  men 
from  the  British  schooner,  took  them,  on  board,  placed  what 
material  on  the  schooner  that  she  could  save  for  them,  what 
clothing  they  could,  and  sailed  for  a  Canadian  port.  She  was 
three  days  about  this  humane  work,  feeding  seventeen  men, 
British,  besides  her  own.  Captain  Jacobs  then  ran  into  the 
harbor  of  Mai  Peque.  The  captain  of  the  Canadian  cruiser 
Critic,  which  was  lying  there,  boarded  the  Adams,  and  was 
informed  of  the  facts  of  the  wreck  and  the  condition  of  the 
crew.     He  refused  to  lend  any  assistance  whatever. 

"  Captain  Jacobs  asked  permission  to  land  some  of  the 
wrecked  material  he  had  onboard,  but  was  refused  by  the  cap- 
tain of  the  cruiser,  who  told  him  if  he  did  so  he  would  seize 
him.  None  of  the  people  on  the  shore  would  take  the  wrecked 
crew.  They  were  still  on  Captain  Jacobs'  hands.  Captain 
Jacobs  finally  took  from  his  own  pocket  sixty  dollars  and  gave 
it  to  the  crew  to  get  home  with. 

"But  there  is  a  bar  in  Mai  Peque  where  a  vessel  drawing 
over   fourteen   feet  of  water   cannot   pass.     Captain   Jacob's 


446  THE  RECORD  OF 

vessel  drew  fourteen  feet,  and  he  was  compelled  to  lay  there 
some  eight  or  ten  days,  until  a  tide  would  come  that  should  be 
sufficient  to  float  his  vessel  over.  Tlie  result  was  that  when 
the  opportunity  came  for  Captain  Jacobs  to  sail,  he  had  not  a 
pound  of  flour  on  his  vessel.  These  British  sailors  had  eaten 
it  all  up.  He  put  into  Port  Medway,  and  asked  permission  of 
the  collector  to  purchase  half  a  barrel  of  flour,  or  enough  pro- 
visions to  take  his  vessel  and  crew  hom?.  This  was  absolutely 
refused,  and  the  collector  threatened  to  seize  his  vessel  if  he  pur- 
chased anything  whatever.  Captain  Jacobs  left  without 
obtaining  anything,  went  home  a  distance  of  300  miles,  on 
short  rations,  and  the  last  day  he  had  not  a  single  thing  on  his 
vessel  for  his  crew  to  eat. 

"  In  the  nineteenth  century,  nineteen  hundred  years,  almost, 
after  our  dear  Lord  was  born,  by  a  country  that  claims  to  be 
civilized  and  Christianized,  this  terrible  act  of  inhumanity  was 
committed,  and  committed  for  but  a  single  purpose,  to  get  our 
markets  and  free  fish  ;  and  the  Senator  from  Alabama  may 
wish  to  give  it  to  them  under  stress  like  that. 

"  One  more  case.  I  am  not  citing  these  cases  because  I 
think  the  Senators  on  the  other  side  have  never  heard  of  them. 
I  am  citing  them  because  I  wish  the  American  people  to  weigh 
your  treaty  with  the  threats  and  the  outrageous  acts  which  pro- 
duced it.  Take  the  Mariori  Gritnes.  In  October  the  Ameri- 
can vessel  Alar  ion  Gritnes^  of  Gloucester,  Massachusetts, 
Captain  Landry,  put  into  Port  Shelburne  in  a  terrible  gale, 
anchored  in  the  outer  port;  anchored  in  the  first  place  she  had 
safety  in,  six  or  eight  miles  from  the  custom-house  port,  with- 
out the  slightest  intention  of  going  into  that.      She  laid  there 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  447 

nearly  the  whole  night.  The  storm  abated.  She  hoisted  her 
sails  and  started  out  for  sea,  when  Captain  Quigley  of  the 
cruiser  Terror^  fired  a  shot  across  her  bows,  brought  her  to, 
went  on  board,  took  possession  of  her,  and  told  her  that  she 
must  go  to  port,  make  entry,  and  report.  He  took  her  six 
miles  out  of  her  way,  when  she  had  not  been  within  three 
miles  of  the  shore,  and  Captain  Qiiigley  knew  that  she  was  in 
there  to  escape  the  storm,  and  for  no  other  purpose  whatever. 
He  told  them  that  if  she  did  not  go  in  and  report  and  enter, 
she  would  be  fined  four  hundred  dollars.  She  was  fined  four 
hundred  dollars  as  it  was,  and  the  money  was  deposited  to  pay 
the  fine. 

"  Mr.  Payne. —  It  was  remitted  afterwards  by  the  court  in 
Canada. 

"Mr.  Frye. — I  doubt  it.     I  do  not  know. 

"Mr.  Gray. — Yes,  it  was. 

"Mr.  Payne. —  Most  of  them  have  been  remitted. 

"Mr.  Frye. —  No,  sir;  most  of  them  have  not  been  re- 
mitted. 

"Mr.  Payne. —  I  hope  the  Senator  will  be  fair  when  he 
states  these  cases.  He  omits  to  state  that  the  several  acts  were 
not  committed  by  the  direct  authority  of  the  Government  of 
Canada,  and  that  when  they  were  brought  before  the  Council 
of  Canada,  in  every  instance,  they  were  either  apologized  for 
or  remitted,  so  that  the  government  was  not  responsible  for 
any  act  of  outrage,  except  under  the  general  custom  laws. 

"  Mr.  Frye. —  There  is  not  a  case  that  I  have  here  that  the 
Government  of  Canada  is  not  responsible  for,  and  there  i« 
only  one  that  she  has  ever  apologized  for. 


448  THE  RECORD  OF 

"Mr.  Payne. —  We  shall  see. 

"Mr.  Frye. —  We  shall  see  about  it.  I  know  the  facts 
about  as  well  as  the  Senator  from  Ohio.  I  am  pretty  familiar 
with  them. 

"The  Marion  Grimes  was  fined  four  hundred  dollars. 
This  fine  was  imposed  by  the  urgency  of  Captain  Q.uigley,  of 
the  1  error ^  and  Captain  Landry  was  informed  that  he  vvould 
be  detained  at  the  port  of  Shelburne  imtil  a  deposit  to  meet  it 
was  made. 

"  While  the  vessel  was  in  the  custody  of  Captain  Qiiigley, 
Captain  Landry  hoisted  the  American  'flag,  hoisted  it  on  an 
American  vessel,  —  on  his  own  —  as  he  had  a  right  to  do,  and 
Captain  Quigley  ordered  this  American  citizen  to  haul  it  down. 

"Mr.  Payne. —  Please  follow  it  up. 

"Mr.  Frye. —  Do  not  interrupt  me  now.  I  decline  to  be 
interrupted. 

Mr.  Payne. —  That  is  not  fair. 

Mr.  Frye. —  Captain  Qiiigley  ordered  the  American  flag 
hauled  down,  and  it  was  hauled  down.  Then,  shortly  after- 
wards, when  Captain  Landry  was  ready  to  sail,  he  hoisted  the 
American  flag  once  more  on  that  American  ship,  as  he  had  a 
right  to  do,  and  Captain  Quigley  came  on  board  and  with  an 
oath  took  the  halyards  in  his  own  hand,  hauled  down  your 
flag,  and  you  to-day,  sir,  are  apologizing  for  him  in  tlie  United 
States  Senate. 

Mr.  Payne. —  That  is  not  true. 

Mr.  Frye. —  The  Senator  wants  me  to  say  that  an  apology 
was  made  for  that.  A  weak  apology,  readily  accepted  by  a 
w«ak  Administration,  was  made,  but  Captain  Quigley  kept  his 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  449 

office  as  captain  of  the  ship.  He  sailed  afterwards  through 
those  waters  and  seized  vessels  as  he  met  them  bearing  the 
American  flag.  Seventy-five  years  ago,  if  Captain  Quigley 
had  not  been  been  immediately  displaced  by  his  government, 
there  would  have  been  a  declaration  of  war.  We  made  the 
the  declaration  of  war  in  181 3  for  no  offense  that  was  any 
greater  than  that.  They  seized  our  vessels,  I  admit ;  they 
searched  them  and  took  our  sailors  :  but  they  seized  this  ves- 
sel without  right  of  law,  and  they  tore  down  with  their  own 
hands  the  emblem  of  the  sovereignty  of  a  republic  of  sixty 
million  people." 

Congress  passed  a  law  authorizing  the  President  to  retaliate 
by  forbidding  Canadian  vessels  to  come  into  our  ports,  and  if 
necessary,  by  terminating  all  commercial  relations  with  Can- 
ada. Instead  of  employing  the  powers  given  him  by  Con- 
gress, or  in  any  way  protecting  the  rights  of  our  fishermen, 
President  Cleveland  appointed  plenipotentiaries  to  negotiate 
another  treaty  upon  the  fisheries.  These  representatives  of 
the  United  States  met  the  representatives  of  England  and  pro- 
ceeded to  agree  to  a  treaty  which  completely  surrenders  the 
rights  and  interests  of  our  fishermen. 

Senator  Frye  denounced  this  treaty  in  the  Senate  as  "the 
most  disgraceful,  humiliating,  and  cowardly  surrender  the 
American  Republic  has  ever  been  called  upon  to  submit  to, 
not  excepting  the  treaty  of  1S18."  This  treaty  deals  first  with 
the  question  of  defining  the  right  of  our  fishermen  to  fish  in 
the  waters  along  the  Canadian  coast,  under  the  treaty  of  181 8. 
The  treaty  of  1818  preserves  to  us  the  right  to  fish,  but  not 
"  within  three  marine  miles  of  any  of  the  coasts,  bays,"  etc. 
29 


450  THE  RECORD  OF 

The  English  have  in  the  past  advanced  a  theory  that  the 
three  miles  was  to  be  measured  from  "  headland  to  headland  " 
of  the  bays.  But  England  never  strenuously  insisted  upon 
this  theory,  and  the  United  States  always  refused  to  tolerate 
any  such  construction.  But  strangely  enough,  this  treaty 
which  Mr.  Bayard  entered  into  and  Mr.  Cleveland  sent  to  the 
Senate  provides  that  the  three  marine  miles  mentioned  in  arti- 
cle I.  of  the  convention  of  October  20,  iSiS,  shall  be  meas- 
ured seaward  from  low-water  mark  ;  but  at  every  bay,  creek, 
or  harbor,  not  otherwise  specially  provided  for  in  this  treaty, 
such  three  marine  miles  shall  be  measured  seaward  from  a 
straight  line  drawn  across  the  bay,  creek,  or  harbor,  in  the  part 
nearest  the  entrance  at  the  first  point  where  the  width  does  not 
exceed  ten  marine  miles. 

The  treaty  further  provides  that  if  the  market  of  the  United 
States  is  thrown  open  to  Canadian  fish  duty  free,  commercial 
privileges  shall  be  granted  to  our  fishermen  in  Canadian  ports. 
The  treaty  simply  enlarges  the  danger  of  our  fishermen  being 
subjected  to  seizure  and  confiscation  unless  all  that  is  asked 
for  by  Canada,  namely,  the  market  of  the  United  States,  be  con- 
ceded. England  and  Canada  virtually  dictated  terms  to  the 
Cleveland  administration. 

After  a  long  and  acrimonious  discussion,  the  Senate,  in 
August  of  the  present  year,  rejected  the  treaty.  The  Repub- 
licans voted  unanimously  against  it,  while  the  Democrats  voted 
as  solidly  in  its  favor. 

The  whole  tone  of  the  Democratic  debate  and  of  the  voice 
of  the  Democratic  press  was  to  the  efiect  that  the  Nation 
ought  not  to  permit  itself  to  be  embroiled  for  the  sake  of  the 
interests  of  a  few  fishermen  in  New  England. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  451 

But  no  sooner  was  the  treaty  rejected  than  President  Cleve- 
land gave  evidence  that  he  recognized  the  weakness  of  his 
position  and  the  discredit  which  was  likely  to  attach  to  his 
administration. 

He  immediately  sent  to  Congress  a  special  message  in  which 
he  seemingly  sought  to  "  out-Herod  Herod  "  in  the  vigor  with 
which  he  denounced  the  Canadian  outrages.  Professing,  how- 
ever, to  consider  that  he  ought  to  have  from  Congress  more 
definite  instructions  as  to  what  particular  measure  of  retalia- 
tion to  adopt,  he  recommended  that  authority  be  given  to  retal- 
iate by  stopping  the  transport  in  bond  over  the  railroads  of  the 
United  States  of  merchandise  in  transit  to  Canada  from  Europe. 
This  method  of  retaliation,  while  calculated  to  inflict  injury 
upon  Canada,  is  one  sure,  also,  to  severely  damage  our  own 
railroad  interests. 

Congress  had  already  pointed  out  the  true  method  of  retali- 
ation, namelv  :  the  denial  of  commercial  privileges  to  Canadian 
vessels  in  our  ports.  Such  moderate  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  retributive  justice,  together  with  the  vigorous  pre- 
sentment of  our  claims  for  damages  would  probably  be  sufii- 
cient  to  secure  from  the  British  Government  reparation  for  the 
past  and  security  for  the  future. 

The  bellicose  message  of  President  Cleveland  appears,  even 
to  many  of  the  supporters  of  the  President,  as  designed 
merely  as  a  move  on  the  chess  board  of  politics ;  and  is  one  of 
the  most  extraordinary  acts  of  an  administration  destined  to 
take  rank  as  one  of  the  least  honorable  or  successful  in  the  his- 
torv  of  the  government. 


Chapter  IX. 


THE  TEMPERANCE  QTJESTION. 

ONE  GREAT  ISSUE  AT  A  TIME  —  PROHIBITION  NOT  THE  ISSUE  —  THE 
REPUBLICAN  PARTY  THE  TRUE  REFORM  PARTY —  THE  DEMOCRAT- 
IC PARTY  HOSTILE  TO  TEMPERANCE  MEASURES THE  PROHIBI- 
TION   PARTY    A    HINDRANCE    TO    REFORM. 

When  tlie  authority  of  tlic  constitution  shall  have  been  vin- 
dicated, and  the  suppression  of  suflrage  ended  in  the  southern 
section  of  the  Republic  ;  when  the  industrial  future  of  the 
Nation  shall  have  been  settled  upon  the  sure  foundation  of 
the  protective  system  in  its  complete  development,  the  Ameri- 
can people  will  enter  upon  an  epoch  when  the  public  problems 
considered  will  be  chiefly  social  in  their  character.  Among 
the  social  questions  already  long  pondered  and  made  the  sub- 
ject of  legislation,  but  still  unsettled,  is  the  (juestion  how 
most  wisely  to  deal  with  the  traihc  in  intoxicating  licjuors. 
This  question  is  coming  into  larger  prominence.  The  im- 
petuous zeal  of  earnest  men  and  women  decplv  interested  in 
the  temperance  (juestion  has  sought  to  thrust  it  forward  as  a 
{political  issue,  prematurely,  and  so  as  to  put  in  pci  il  the  dear- 
est rights  of  man  and  tlic  most  impoitant  of  material  interests. 
Appeal  ought  to  be  made  to  the  patriotism  and  the  foresight  of 
these  citizens,  whose  public  spirit  and  whose  devotion  to  duty 
no  one  can  question,  to  forbear  hurrying  forward  this  new 
political  issue  until  the  public  mind,  released  from  prior  occu- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  453 

pation,  turns  insti actively  and  naturally  to  the  discussion  and 
settlement  of  this  leading  social  question.  A  great  party,  em- 
bodying the  majority  of  the  progressive  forces  of  the  Nation. 
and  charged  with  the  duty  of  leading  in  the  advance  move- 
ment, cannot  permit  itself  to  be  diverted  from  great  tasks  first 
undertaken  and  not  yet  discharged —  the  army  which  comprises 
at  once  thj  forces  of  both  conservatism  and  of  reform  shoultl 
not  divide  to  its  death.  A  little  later  and  nothing  will  remain 
for  discussion  in  the  forum  of  politics  save  social  questions,  and 
the  temperance  question  will  be  well  to  the  front.  A  century 
crow. lei  with  material  progress  draws  to  its  close.  The 
twentieth  century  —  promising  to  be  one  of  moral  grandeur 
hitherto  unequaled  —  is  soon  to  open.  It  may  safely  be  pre- 
dicted that  before  that  century  opens  this  long-vexed  problem 
of  how  best  to  regulate  and  restrain  the  sale  of  intoxicating 
liquors  will  have  been  finally  solved  by  the  American  people 
and  solved  in  such  manner  that  there  will  be  a  great  decrease 
in  the  consumption  of  intoxicating  liquors  by  our  people,  with 
a  corresponding  diminution  of  the  evils  and  burdens  of  intem- 
perance. The  evils  and  burdens  resulting  from  the  general  use 
and  abuse  of  intoxicating  liquors  are  in  truth  enormous.  If 
the  expenditure  for  alcoholic  drinks  in  the  United  States 
amounts,  as  has  been  estimated,  to  more  than  nine  hundred 
millions  of  dollars  annually — a  sum  greater  than  that  of  the 
combined  annual  earnings  of  all  the  railroads  in  the  country  — 
the  burdens  directly  and  indirectly  resulting  must  be  very  great. 
Now  it  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  the  too  general 
and  excessive  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  can  most  effectually 
and  satisfactorily  be  done  away  with  through  the  moral  eleva- 


454  THE  RECORD  OF 

tion  of  the  masses,  to  be  chiefly  accomplished  by  the  regener- 
ating and  strengthening  influences  of  religion  and  education. 
The  church  and  school  and  home  are  now,  as  in  the  early  days, 
the  props  of  the  Nation's  power.  Everything,  too,  that  gives 
heart  and  hope  and  prosperity  to  labor  will  powerfully  aid  in 
stimulating  the  manlier  virtues  into  life  and  strength.  There 
has  of  late  been  too  great  a  reliance  upon  law  and  too  little 
upon  educational  and  religious  work.  Saying  this  and  em- 
phasizing it,  we  ought  not  to  understate  the  importance  of  a 
sound  legal  method  for  dealing  with  the  common  sale  of  in- 
toxicating liquors.  This  is  properly  a  political  question,  as 
well  as  a  moral  one.  In  our  time  most  moral  questions  are 
political  ones.  The  state  should  have  a  fixed  policy  on  this 
subject,  and  that  policy  should  strongly  favor  the  interests  of 
the  home  rather  than  those  of  the  saloon.  Public  sentiment  is 
deeply  moved  on  this  question.  In  the  face  of  the  adoption  of 
constitutional  prohibition  in  Maine  by  an  enormous  jjopular 
majority  after  trial  of  statutory  prohibition  for  a  generation  ; 
the  adoption  of  the  same  policy  in  Kansas  and  in  Iowa  by 
popular  majorities  ;  the  three-fifths  vote  in  Rhode  Island  for  the 
prohibitory  amendment  of  the  constitution,  and  the  adoption 
of  a  prohibition  constitution  by  the  coming  new  State  of  South 
Dakota,  it  is  impossible  to  deny  the  great  strength  of  the 
movement  for  constitutional  prohibition  ;  and  in  the  states  of 
Michigan,  Ohio,  Oregon,  and  Tennessee,  prohibition,  although 
defeated,  was  supported  at  the  polls  by  a  minority  so  strong 
numerically,  and  embodying  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  prop- 
erty and  intelligence  of  those  states,  as  to  give  signal  proof  ot 
the  coming  power  of  the  temperance  sentiment  of  the  Nation. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  455 

In  Ohio,  however,  this  sentiment  has  since  the  defeat  of  consti- 
tutional prohibition,  found  legislative  expression  in  a  system  of 
taxation  and  regulation  which  seems  to  be  the  best  presently 
attainable  system  for  that  state.     Illinois,  Nebraska,  Missouri, 
Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey  have 
passed  high  license  laws  which  contain  many  restrictive  pro- 
visions calculated  to  lessen  the  number  of  saloons  and  bring 
this  dangerous  business  under  control.     The  Republican  party 
in  all   these   states  has  adopted  the  policy  of  favoring  the  home 
against  the  saloon,  and  has  sought  to  enact  as  strong  temper- 
ance measures  as  there  was  reason  to  believe  public  sentiment 
would  sustain.     In  doing  so  it  has  bravely  run  the  risk  of  de- 
feat at  the  hands  of  the  liquor  interest.     It  has  not  been  behind 
public  sentiment,  but  somewhat  in  advance,  or,  to  speak  more 
correctly,  it  has  enacted  temperance  measures  which  public 
sentiment  sustains,  but  which  endanger  Republican  ascendency 
because   Temperance   Democrats  continue  voting  with  their 
party,  while  some  Republicans  are  alienated.     It  is  to  temper- 
ance legislation  rather  than  to  free  trade  that  Republican  loss 
in  Minnesota  and  Michigan  is  to  be  ascribed.     In  Ohio  moder- 
ate temperance  legislation  for  a  season  threw  the  Republicans 
out   of    power,  but  the  tide  turned  soon  in  their  favor  and 
brought  them  back  into  control  more  firmly  resolved  than  ever 
to  persist  in  a  temperance  policy.     The  best  hope  for  temper- 
ance legislation  in  the  future  is  that  Temperance  Democrats  will 
finally  come  to  the  Republicans  and  join  them  in  maintaining 
such  a  policy  as  befits  a  Christian  American  commonwealth. 
The  Democratic  party  in  every  state  in  the  North  has  con- 
stantly opposed  every  measure  looking  either  to  the  submission 


456  THE  RECORD  OF 

of  constitutional  amendments  or  the  enactment  of  temperance 
legislation.  A  national  prohibition  party  is  a  worse  than  use- 
less organization  of  forces  that  are  needed  where  they  would 
be  most  eftectual.  Whether  a  uniform  policy  in  all  the  states 
to  be  imposed  by  national  authority  is  essential  to  the  success 
of  the  movement  against  the  saloon,  is  a  question  which  only  a 
small  portion  of  the  people  are  ready  even  to  consider.  An 
amendment  of  the  constitution  is  required  before  national  pro- 
hibition can  be  enacted. 

Such  an  amendment  can  only  be  submitted  by  the  concur- 
rence of  two-thirds  of  each  house  of  Congress,  and  can  only  be 
ratified  by  the  consent  of  three-fourths  of  the  states. 

National  prohibition  or  restraint  of  the  liquor  traffic,  except 
through  taxation,  involves  a  more  radical  application  of  national 
ideas  than  any  yet  made  in  the  legislation  of  the  Republic. 

Without  enteiing,  prematurely,  upon  a  discussion  of  the 
wisdom  of  the  policy  of  national  prohibition,  this  is  to  be  said  : 
that  advocates  of  that  policy  ought  to  see  the  necessity  of  aiding 
by  their  votes  the  restoration  of  the  power  and  prestige  of  the 
great  historic  party  which  is  the  exponent  of  the  national  idea, 
to  the  final  ascendency  of  which  they  must  look  for  the  fulfill- 
ment of  their  hopes.  The  National  Prohibition  party  has 
succeeded  already  in  putting  the  national  government  under  the 
control  of  the  extreme  advocates  of  state  rights,  and  unless  bet- 
ter counsels  prevail,  may  be  destined  to  give  perpetual  control 
to  the  reactionary  party  which  is  hostile  to  all  legislation  in 
restraint  of  the  liquor  traffic.  The  particular  amendment  of 
the  national  constitution  sought  by  the  Prohibition  party  is  not 
the  measure  most  easy  of  attaimnent.     A  more  practical  prop- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  457 

osition  would  be  one  that  merely  proposed  extending  the  juris- 
diction of  Congress  to  the  subject  of  the  liquor  traffic,  thus 
placing  that  subject  on  the  same  footing  as  bankruptcy  and  the 
conduct  of  congressional  elections.  Under  such  an  amended 
constitution  Congress  would  be  free  to  deal  with  this  question 
when  and  in  such  manner  as  public  opinion,  finally  crystal- 
lizing, might  dictate.  The  demand  now  urged  that  the  states 
put  prohibition  in  the  fundamental  law  of  the  Republic,  is 
impractical  in  the  last  degree.  In  the  course  of  the  famous 
debate  between  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Stephen  A.  Douglas  in 
1858,  Mr.  Douglas  deprecated  "  uniformity  in  all  things  local 
and  domestic,  by  the  authority  of  the  federal  government," 
saying:  "  But  when  you  attain  that  uniformity  you  will  have 
converted  these  sovereign,  independent  states  into  one  consoli- 
dated empire  with  the  uniformity  of  despotism  reigning  tri- 
umphant throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land." 

Mr,  Lincoln  in  reply  said  :  "I  do  not  believe  in  the  right  of 
Illinois  to  interfere  with  the  cranberry  laws  of  Indiana,  the 
oyster  laws  of  Virginia,  or  the  liquor  laws  of  Maine."  So  that 
the  opinion  of  the  sagacious  Lincoln — Whig,  Republican, 
and  Nationalist  as  he  was —  at  that  time  concurred  with  that 
of  the  greatest  and  most  patriotic  leader  of  the  Democratic 
party  since  Andrew  Jackson,  that  any  attempt,  by  means  of 
national  authority,  by  one  state  to  dictate  the  liquor  laws  of 
another  is  alien  to  the  spirit  of  our  government.  Mr.  Lincoln 
held  views  almost  as  conservative  upon  the  question  of  slavery, 
but  he  lived  to  proclaim  emancipation.  Since  1858  the  Repub- 
lican party  has  advanced  very  far  in  its  appreciation  of  the 
demands   of  our  national   life,  and  when  the  reactionary  tide 


458  .  THE  RECORD  OF 

which  has  rolled  in  recedes,  new  applications  of  the  national 
idea  will  be  made.  Whether  the  liquor  traffic  will  be  brought 
within  the  field  of  national  politics,  and  whether,  if  it  is,  the 
public  mind  will  advance  to  the  radical  plan  of  prohibition,  the 
future  will  imfold.  But  the  Prohibition  Republicans,  once  as 
radical  as  any  in  their  devotion  to  the  equal  suffrage  of  the 
colored  race,  should  realize  that  until  the  authority  of  the  Nation 
has  proved  itself  equal  to  the  duty  of  protecting  the  freedom  of 
elections  against  open  violence,  it  is  unwise  to  urge  the  under- 
taking of  the  task  of  enforcing  a  prohibitory  liquor  law  upon 
unwilling  states. 

In  the  course  of  his  debate  with  Douglas,  Mr.  Lincoln  enun- 
ciated and  emphasized  one  idea  which  should  take  possession 
of  the  people  on  the  temperance  issue.  Denying  that  he  was 
an  abolitionist,  Mr.  Lincoln  said:  "I  think  the  opponents  of 
slavery  will  resist  the  further  spread  of  it  and  place  it  where 
the  public  mind  shall  rest  with  the  belief  that  it  is  in  course  of 
ultimate  extinction." 

The  extreme  abolitionists  of  tliat  day  were  not  satisfied  with 
the  position  of  Mr.  Lincoln  or  the  Republican  partv  on  the 
slavery  question,  and  with  scorn  and  bitterness  refused  their 
cooperation  to  the  Republican  organization.  But  the  good 
sense  of  practical  men  recognized  in  the  Republican  party  an 
agency  that  was  sure  to  place  slavery  in  a  position  where  it 
would  be  in  course  of  ultimate  extinction.  The  extreme 
abolitionists  of  1S56  and  1S60  find  their  parallel  to-day  in  the 
Prohibitionists. 

The  third-party  Prohibitionists  are  to-day  doing  greater 
injury  to  the  cause   of  temperance   than   to   the  liquor   traffic. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  459 

They  insist  that  the  prohibition  issue  shall  have  immediate 
consideration  to  the  exclusion  of  the  tariff  question.  This 
demand  is  impracticable,  and  cannot  be  heeded.  The  tariff 
question  comes  before  the  people  inevitably  for  settlement.  It 
there  had  been  no  St.  John  vote  in  New  York  in  18S4,  Mr. 
Blaine  would  have  been  elected,  the  tariff' revised  in  accordance 
with  the  protective  principle,  the  interests  of  education  in  the 
South  provided  for,  and  by  18S8  the  temperance  question 
would  have  been  a  leading  issue  in  politics.  A  vote  for  the 
Prohibition  ticket  in  1888  is  a  vote  to  delay  the  real  considera- 
tion of  the  temperance  question. 

Instead  of  the  feeble  Abolition  party  (which,  by  diverting 
Whig  votes  from  Clay  to  Birney  in  1844,  gave  the  country  to 
the  Democrats,)  waxing  stronger  until  it  finally  ascended  to 
power,  the  truth  of  history  is  that  the  Abolition  organization 
died  out  and  its  unconstitutional  and  impracticable  proposi- 
tions were  abandoned,  while  it  was  reserved  for  the  Republi- 
can party  rising  up,  not  to  abolish,  but  to  restrict  the  spread  of 
slavery,  to  give  universal  freedom  to  the  Nation. 

The  Prohibition  party  of  St.  John  and  of  Fisk  is  analagous 
to  the  Abolition  party  of  Birney,  while  the  Republican  party  is. 
tending  rapidly  in  the  same  path  of  practical  reform  on  the 
liquor  question  that  brought  it  into  power  on  the  slavery  issue. 


Chapter  X. 


THE  REPUBLICx\N  PLATFORM  FOR  i 

The  Republicans  of  the  United  States,  assembled  by  their 
delegates  in  National  Convention,  pause  on  the  threshold  of 
their  proceedings  to  honor  the  memory  of  their  first  great 
leader,  the  immortal  champion  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  the 
people  —  Abraham  Lincoln;  and  to  cover  also  with  wreaths 
of  imperishable  remembrance  and  gratitude  the  heroic  names 
of  our  late  leaders  who  have  more  recently  been  called  away 
from  our  councils  —  Grant,  Garfield,  Arthur,  Logan,  Conkling. 
May  their  memories  be  faithfully  cherished  ! 

We  also  recall  with  our  greetings,  and  with  prayer  for  his 
recovery,  the  name  of  one  of  our  living  heroes,  whose  memory 
will  be  treasured  in  tlic  history  both  of  Republicans  and  of  tlie 
Republic  —  the  name  of  that  noble  soldier  and  favorite  child 
of  victory,  Philip  IL  Sheridan. 

In  tlie  spirit  of  those  great  leaders,  and  of  our  own  devotion 
to  human  liberty,  and  with  that  hostility  to  all  forms  of  despot- 
ism and  oppression  which  is  tlie  t'lmdamcntal  idea  of  the  Re- 
publican Party,  we  send  fraternal  congratulation  to  our  fellow- 
Americans  of  Brazil  upon  their  great  act  of  emancipation, 
which  completes  the  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the  two 
American  continents. 

We  earnestly  hope  that  we  may  soon  congratulate  our  fellow- 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  461 

citizens  of  Irish  liirtli  upon  the  peaceful  recovery  of  Home 
Rule  for  Ireland. 

We  reaffirm  our  unswerving  devotion  to  the  National  Con- 
stitution, and  the  indissoluble  union  of  the  States  ;  to  the  au- 
tonomy reserved  to  the  States  under  the  Constitution  ;  to  the 
personal  rights  and  liberties  of  citizens  in  all  the  states  and 
territories  in  the  Union,  and  especially  to  the  supreme  and 
sovereign  right  of  every  lawful  citizen,  lich  or  poor,  native  or 
foreign  born,  white  or  black,  to  cast  one  free  ballot  in  public 
elections,  and  to  have  that  ballot  duly  counted.  We  hold  the 
free  and  honest  popular  ballot,  and  the  just  and  equal  repre- 
sentation of  all  the  people,  to  be  the  foundation  of  our  repub- 
lican government,  and  demand  effective  legislation  to  secure 
the  integrity  and  purity  of  elections,  which  are  the  fountains 
of  public  authority.  We  charge  that  the  present  Administra- 
tion and  the  Democratic  majority  in  Congress  owe  their  exist- 
ence to  the  suppression  of  the  ballot  by  a  criminal  nullification 
of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  United  States. 

We  are  vmcompromisingly  in  favor  of  the  American  system 
of  protection  ;  we  protest  against  its  destruction  as  proposed 
by  the  President  and  his  party.  They  serve  the  interests  of 
Europe  ;  we  will  support  the  interests  of  America.  We  accept 
the  issue,  and  confidently  appeal  to  the  people  for  their  judg- 
ment. The  protective  system  must  be  maintained.  Its  aban- 
donment has  always  been  followed  by  general  disaster  to  all 
interests,  except  those  of  the  usurer  and  the  sheriff'.  We  de- 
nounce the  Mills  Bill  as  destructive  to  the  general  business, 
the    labor  t^nd   the   farming  interests  of  the  country,  and  we 


462  THE  RECORD  OF 

heartily  indorse  the  consistent  and  patriotic  action  of  the  Re- 
publican representatives  in  Congress  in  opposing  its  passage. 

We  condemn  the  proposition  of  the  Democratic  party  to 
place  wool  on  the  free  list,  and  we  insist  that  the  duties  thereon 
shall  be  adjusted  and  maintained  so  as  to  furnish  full  and  ade- 
quate protection  to  that  industry  throughout  the  United  States. 

The  Republican  party  would  cflect  all  needed  reduction  of 
the  national  revenue,  by  repealing  the  taxes  upon  tobacco, 
which  are  an  annoyance  and  burden  to  agriculture,  and  the 
tax  upon  sj^irits  used  in  the  arts  and  for  mechanical  purposes  ; 
and  by  such  revision  of  the  tariff'  laws  as  will  tend  to  check 
imports  of  such  articles  as  are  produced  by  our  people,  the 
production  of  which  gives  employment  to  our  labor,  and  release 
from  import  duties  those  articles  of  foreign  production  (except 
luxuries),  the  like  of  which  cannot  be  produced  at  home.  If 
there  shall  still  remain  a  larger  revenue  than  is  requisite  for  the 
wants  of  the  government,  we  favor  the  entire  repeal  of  internal 
taxes  rather  than  the  surrender  of  any  part  of  our  protective 
S3-stem  at  the  joint  behests  of  the  whiskev  trusts  and  the  agents 
of  foreign  manufacturers. 

We  declare  our  hostility  to  the  introduction  into  this  country 
of  foreign  contract  labor  and  of  Chinese  labor,  alien  to  our  civ- 
ilization and  Constitution,  and  we  demaiul  the  rigid  enforce- 
ment of  the  existing  laws  against  it.  and  favor  such  immediate 
legislation  as  will  exclude  such  labor  from  our  shores. 

We  declare  our  opposition  to  all  combinations  of  capital  or- 
ganized in  trusts  or  otlicrwisc  to  control  arbitrariK  the  condi- 
tion of  trade  among  our  citizens,  <md  we  recommend  to  Con- 
gress and  the  state  legislatures  in  their  respective  jurisdictions. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  463 

such  legislation  as  will  prevent  the  execution  of  all  schemes  to 
oppress  ihe  people  by  undue  charges  on  their  supplies,  or  by 
unjust  rates  for  the  transportation  of  their  products  to  market. 
We  approve  the  legislation  by  Congress  to  prevent  alike  unjust 
burdens  and  unfair  discriminations  between  the  states. 

We  reaffirm  the  policy  of  appropriating  the  public  lands  of 
the  United  States  to  be  homesteads  for  American  citizens  and 
settlers  —  not  aliens  —  which  the  Republican  party  established 
in  1862,  against  the  persistent  opposition  of  the  Democrats  in 
Congress,  and  which  has  brought  our  great  western  domain 
into  such  magnificent  development.  The  i-estoration  of  un- 
earned railroad  land  grants  to  the  public  domain  for  the  use  of 
settlers,  which  was  begun  under  the  administration  of  Presi- 
dent Arthur,  should  be  continued.  We  deny  that  the  Demo- 
cratic party  has  ever  restored  one  acre  to  the  people,  but  de- 
clare that  by  the  joint  action  of  Republicans  and  Democrats  in 
Congress,  about  50,000,000  of  acres  of  unearned  lands  origin- 
ally granted  for  the  construction  of  railroads  have  been  restored 
to  the  public  domain,  in  pursuance  of  the  conditions  inserted 
by  the  Republican  party  in  the  original  grants.  We  charge 
the  Democratic  administration  with  failure  to  execute  the  laws 
securing  to  settlers  titles  to  their  homesteads,  and  with  using 
appropriations  made  for  that  purpose  to  harass  innocent  set- 
tlers with  spies  and  prosecutions  under  the  false  pretense  of 
exposing  frauds  and  vindicating  the  law. 

The  government  by  Congress  of  the  territories  is  based  upon 
necessity,  only  to  the  end  that  they  may  become  states  in  the 
Union  ;  therefore,  whenever  the  conditions  of  population,  ma- 
terial resources,  public  intelligence  and  morality  are  such  as  to 


464  THE  RECORD  OF 

insure  a  stable  local  government  therein,  the  people  of  such 
territories  should  be  permitted  as  a  right  inherent  in  them  to 
form  for  themselves  constitutions  and  state  governments  and 
be  admitted  into  the  Union.  Pending  the  preparation  for 
statehood,  all  officers  thereof  should  be  selected  from  the  botia 
Jide  residents  and  citizens  of  the  territory  wherein  they  are  to 
serve.  South  Dakota  should  of  right  be  immediately  admitted 
as  a  state  in  the  Union,  under  the  constitution  framed  and 
adopted  by  her  people,  and  w^e  heartily  indorse  the  act  of  the 
Republican  Senate  in  twice  passing  bills  for  her  admission. 
The  refusal  of  tb.e  Democratic  House  of  Representatives,  for 
partisan  purposes,  to  favorably  consider  these  bills,  is  a  willful 
violation  of  the  sacred  American  principle  of  local  self  govern- 
ment, and  merits  the  condemnation  of  all  just  men.  The 
pending  bills  in  the  Senate  to  enable  the  people  of  Washing- 
ton, North  Dakota,  and  Montana  Territories  to  form  constitu- 
tions and  establish  state  governments  should  be  passed  w'ithout 
unnecessary  delay.  The  Republican  party  pledges  itself  to  do 
all  in  its  power  to  fiicilitate  the  admission  of  the  Territories  of 
New  Mexico,  Wyoming,  Idaho,  and  Arizona  to  the  enjoyment 
of  self  government  as  states,  such  of  them  as  are  now  qualified, 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  the  others  as  soon  as  they  may  be- 
come so. 

The  political  power  of  the  Mormon  Church  in  the  territories, 
as  exercised  in  the  past,  is  a  menace  to  free  institutions,  a  dan- 
ger no  longer  to  be  suflbred.  Therefore  we  pledge  the  Re- 
publican party  to  appropriate  legislation  asserting  the  sover- 
eignty of  the  Nation  in  all  territories  where  the  same  is 
questioned,  and  in  furtherance  of  that  end,  to  place  upon  the 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  465 

statute  books  legislation  stringent  enough  to  divorce  the  polit- 
.  ical  from  the  ecclesiastical  power,  and  thus  stamp  out  the  at- 
tendant wickedness  of  polygamy. 

The  Republican  party  is  in  favor  of  the  use  of  both  gold  and 
silver  as  money,  and  condemns  the  policy  of  the  Democratic 
administration  in  its  efforts  so  demonetize  silver. 

We  demand  the  reduction  of  letter  postage  to  one  cent  per 
ounce. 

In  a  republic  like  ours,  where  the  citizen  is  the  sovereign, 
and  the  official  the  servant ;  where  no  power  is  exercised  except 
by  the  w^ill  of  the  people,  it  is  important  that  the  sovereign  — 
the  people  —  should  possess  intelligence.  The  free  school  is 
the  promoter  of  that  intelligence,  which  is  to  preserve  us  as  a 
free  nation;  therefore  the  state  t»r  nation,  or  both  combined, 
should  support  free  institutions  of  learning,  sufficient  to  afford 
every  child  growing  in  the  land  the  opportunity  of  a  good 
common-school  education. 

The  first  concern  of  all  good  government  is  the  virtue  and 
sobriety  of  the  people,  and  the  purity  of  the  home.  The 
Republican  party  cordially  sympathizes  with  all  wise  and  well- 
directed  efforts  for  the  promotion  of  temperance  and  morality. 

We  earnestly  recommend  that  prompt  action  be  taken  by 
Congress  on  the  enactment  of  such  legislation  as  will  best  se- 
cure the  rehabilitation  of  our  American  merchant  marine,  and 
we  protest  against  the  passage  by  Congress  of  a  free-ship  bill, 
as  calculated  to  work  injustice  to  labor  by  lessening  the  wages 
of  those  engaged  in  preparing  materials,  as  well  as  those  di- 
rectly employed  in  our  ship-yards.  We  demand  appropria- 
tions for  the  early  rebuilding  of  our  navy ;  for  the  construction 
30 


4^6  THE  RECORD  OF 

of  coast  fortifications  and  modern  ordnance,  and  other  ap- 
proved modern  means  of  defense  for  the  protection  of  our  * 
defenseless  harbors  and  cities  ;  for  the  payment  of  just  pensions 
to  our  soldiers  ;  for  necessary  works  of  national  importance  in 
the  improvement  of  harbors,  and  the  channels  of  internal, 
coastwise,  and  foreign  commerce  ;  for  the  encouragement  of 
the  shipping  interests  of  the  Atlantic,  Gulf,  and  Pacific  States, 
as  well  as  for  the  payment  of  the  maturing  public  debt.  This 
policy  will  give  employment  to  our  labor,  activity  to  our  vari- 
ous industries,  increase  the  security  of  our  country,  promote 
trade,  open  new  and  direct  markets  for  our  produce,  and 
cheapen  the  cost  of  transportation.  We  affirm  this  to  be  far 
better  for  our  country  than  the  Democratic  policy  of  loaning 
the  Government's  money,  without  interest,  to  "pet  banks." 

The  conduct  of  foreign  affairs  by  the  present  Administra- 
tion has  been  distinguished  by  its  inefficiency  and  cowardice. 
IIa\ing  withdrawn  from  the  Senate  all  pending  treaties  ef- 
fected by  the  Republican  administrations  for  the  removal  of 
foreign  burdens  and  restrictions  upon  our  commerce,  and  for 
its  extension  into  better  markets,  it  has  neither  effected  nor 
proposed  any  others  in  their  stead.  Professing  adherence  to 
the  Monroe  doctrine,  it  has  seen,  with  idle  complacency,  the 
extension  of  foreign  influence  in  Central  America,  and  of  for- 
eign trade  everywhere  among  our  neighbors.  It  has  refused 
to  charter,  sanction,  or  encourage  any  American  organization 
for  constructing  the  Nicaragua  Canal,  a  work  of  vital  import- 
ance to  the  maintenance  of  the  Monroe  doctrine,  and  of  our 
national  inffuence  in  Central  and  South  America,  and  neces- 
sary for   the  development  of  trade  with   our   Pacific  territory, 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  467 

with  South  America,  and  with  the  islands  and  further  coasts 
of  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

We  arraign  the  present  Democratic  Administration  for  its 
weak  and  unpatriotic  treatment  of  the  fisheries  question,  and 
its  pusillanimous  surrender  of  the  essential  privileges  to  which 
our  fishing-vessels  are  entitled  in  Canadian  ports  under  the 
treaty  of  iSiS,  the  reciprocal  maritime  legislation  of  1830, 
and  the  comity  of  nations,  and  which  Canadian  fishing-vessels 
receive  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States.  We  condemn  the 
policy  of  the  present  Administration  and  the  Democratic  major- 
ity in  Congress  toward  our  fisheries  as  unfriendly  and  conspic- 
uously unpatriotic,  and  as  tending  to  destro}^  a  valuable  indus- 
try, and  an  indispensable  source  of  defense  against  a  foreign 
enemy. 

The  name  of  American  applies  alike  to  all  citizens  of  the 
Republic,  and  imposes  upon  all  alike  the  same  obligation  of 
obedience  to  the  laws.  At  the  same  time  that  citizenship  is 
and  must  be  the  panoply  and  safeguard  of  him  who  wears  it, 
and  protect  him,  whether  high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  in  all  his 
civil  rights,  it  should  and  must  afford  him  protection  at  home, 
and  follow^  and  protect  him  abroad,  in  whatever  land  he  may 
be  on  a  lawful  errand. 

The  men  who  abandoned  the  Republican  party  in  1884  and 
continue  to  adhere  to  the  Democratic  party,  have  deserted  not 
only  the  cause  of  honest  government,  of  sound  finance,  of  free- 
dom or  purity  of  the  ballot,  but  especially  have  deserted  the 
cause  of  reform  in  the  civil  service.  We  will  not  fail  to  keep 
our  pledges  because  they  have  broken  theirs,  or  because  their 
candidate  has  broken  his.     We  therefore  repeat  our  declara- 


4rxs  THE  ki<:pi:hlican  party. 

tion  of  1SS4,  to  wit:  "The  reform  of  tlie  civil  service  auspic- 
iously begun  under  the  Republican  administration  should  be 
completed  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform  system  already 
established  by  law,  to  all  the  grades  of  the  service  to  which  it 
is  applicable.  The  spirit  and  purpose  of  the  reform  should  be 
observed  in  all  executive  appointments  and  all  laws  at  variance 
with  the  object  of  existing  reform  legislation  should  be  repealed, 
to  the  cud  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in 
the  power  of  official  patronage  may  be  wisel}'  and  eflectively 
avoided." 

The  giatitude  of  the  nation  to  the  defenders  of  the  Union 
cainiot  be  measured  by  laws.  The  legislation  of  Congress 
should  conform  to  the  pledges  made  by  a  loyal  people,  and  be 
so  enlarged  and  extended  as  to  provide  against  the  possibility 
that  any  man  who  honorably  wore  the  Fetleral  uniform  shall 
become  an  inmate  of  an  almshouse  or  dependent  upon  private 
charity.  Ii^  the  presence  of  an  overflowing  treasury  it  would 
be  a  2:)ublic  scandal  to  do  less  for  those  whose  valorous  service 
preserved  the  government.  We  denounce  the  hostile  spirit 
shown  by  President  Cleveland  in  his  numerous  vetoes  of  meas- 
ures for  pension  relief,  and  the  action  of  the  Democratic  rep- 
resentatives in  refusing  even  a  consideration  of  general  pen- 
sion legislation. 

In  support  of  tlie  princi[)les  herewith  enunciated  we  invite 
the  cooperation  of  patriotic  men  of  all  parties,  and  especially 
of  all  workingmen,  whose  prosperity  is  seriously  threatened 
by  the  free  trade  policy  of  the  present  administration. 


Chapter  XL 

GENERAL  HARRISON'S  LETTER  OF 
ACCEPTANCE. 

Indianapolis,  Ind.,  September  ii,  iS88. 
To  the  Hon.  M.  M.  Estee  and  Others.,  Cojnmittee : 

Gentlemen  :  When  your  committee  visited  me  on  the 
Fourth  of  July  last  and  presented  the  official  announcement  of 
my  nomination  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States  by  the 
Republican  Convention,  I  promised  as  soon  as  practicable  to 
communicate  to  you  a  more  formal  acceptance  of  the  nomina- 
tion. Since  that  time  the  w^ork  of  receiving  and  addressing 
almost  daily  large  delegations  of  my  fellow-citizens  has  not 
only  occupied  all  of  my  time,  but  has  in  some  measure  ren- 
dered it  unnecessary  for  me  to  use  this  letter  as  a  medium  of 
communicating  to  the  public  my  views  upon  the  questions  in- 
volved in  the  campaign.  I  appreciate  very  highly  the  confi- 
dence and  respect  manifested  by  the  convention,  and  accept 
the  nomination  with  a  feeling  of  gratitude  and  a  full  sense  of 
the  responsibilities  which  accompany  it. 

It  is  a  matter  of  congratulation  that  the  declarations  of  the 
Chicago  Convention  upon  the  questions  that  now  attract  the 
attention  of  our  people  are  so  clear  and  emphatic.  There  is 
further  cause  of  congratulation  in  the  fact  that  the  convention 
utterances  of  the  Democratic  party,  if  in  any  degree  uncertain 


470  THE  RECORD  OF 

or  contradictory,  can  now  be  judged  and  interpreted  by  Exe- 
cutive acts  and  messages,  and  by  definite  propositions  in  legis- 
lation. This  is  especially  true  of  what  is  popularly  known  as 
the  tariff'  question.  The  issue  cannot  now  be  obscure.  It  is 
not  a  contest  between  schedules,  but  between  wide  apart  prin- 
ciples. The  foreign  competitors  of  our  market  have,  with 
quick  instinct,  seen  how  one  issue  of  this  contest  may  bring 
them  advantage,  and  our  own  people  are  not  so  dull  as  to  miss 
or  neglect  the  grave  interests  that  are  involved  in  them.  The 
assault  upon  our  protective  system  is  open  and  defiant.  Pro- 
tection is  assailed  as  unconstitutional  in  law,  or  as  vicious  in 
principle,  and  those  who  hold  such  views  sincerely  cannot 
stop  short  of  an  absolute  elimination  from  our  tariff' laws  of  the 
principle  of  protection. 

The  Mills  Bill  a  Step  Toward  Free  Trade. 

The  Mills  Bill  is  only  a  step,  but  it  is  toward  an  object  that 
the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  thouglit  and  legislation  have 
clearly  in  mind. 

The  important  question  is  not  so  much  the  length  of  the 
step,  as  the  direction  of  it.  Judged  Ijy  the  Executive  message 
of  December  last,  by  the  Mills  Bill,  by  the  debates  in  Con- 
gress, and  by  the  St.  Louis  platform,  the  Democratic  party 
will,  if  supported  by  the  country,  place  the  tariff'  laws  upon  a 
purely  revenue  basis.  This  is  practical  free  trade  —  free  trade 
in  the  English  sense.  The  legend  upon  the  banner  may  not 
be  "  free  trade";  it  maybe  the  more  obscure  motto  "  tariff 
reform,"  but  neither  the  banner  nor  the  inscription  is  conclu- 
sive, or,  indeed,  very  important.  The  assault  itself  is  the  im- 
portant fact. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  471 

Those  who  teach  that  the  import  duty  upon  foreign  goods 
sold  in  our  market  is  paid  by  the  consumer,  and  that  the  price 
of  the  domestic  competing  article  is  enhanced  to  the  amount 
of  the  duty  on  the  imported  article  ;  that  every  million  of 
dollars  collected  for  customs  duties  represents  many  millions 
more  which  do  not  reach  the  Treasury,  but  are  paid  by  our 
citizens  as  the  increased  cost  of  domestic  productions  resulting 
from  the  tariff  laws  —  may  not  intend  to  discredit  in  the  minds 
of  others  our  system  of  levying  duties  on  competing  foreign 
products,  but  it  is  clearly  already  discredited  in  their  own. 
We  cannot  doubt,  without  impugning  their  integrity,  that  if 
free  to  act  upon  their  convictions  they  would  so  revise  our  laws 
as  to  lay  the  burden  of  the  customs  revenue  upon  articles  that 
are  not  produced  in  this  country,  and  to  place  upon  the  free 
list  all  competing  foreign  products. 

I  do  not  stop  to  refute  this  theory  as  to  the  effect  of  our  tariff' 
duties.  Those  who  advance  it  are  students  of  maxims  and  not 
of  the  markets.  They  may  be  safely  allowed  to  call  their  pro- 
ject "  tariff' reform  "  if  the  peoele  understand  that  in  the  end 
the  argument  compels  free  trade  in  all  competing  products. 
This  end  may  not  be  reached  abruptly,  and  its  approach  may 
be  accompanied  witli  some  expressions  of  sympathy  for  our 
protected  industries  and  our  working  people,  but  it  will  cer- 
tainly come,  if  these  early  steps  do  not  arouse  the  people  to 
effective  resistance. 

The  Republican  party  holds  that  a  protective  tariff' is  consti- 
tutional, wholesome  and  necessary.  We  do  not  offer  a  fixed 
schedule,  but  a  principle.  We  will  revise  the  schedule,  mod- 
ify rates,  but  always  with   an    intelligent  prevision  as  to  the 


472  THE  RECORD  OF 

effect  upon  domestic  production  and  the  wages  of  our  working 
people.  We  believe  it  to  be  one  of  the  worthy  objects  of  tariiV 
legislation  to  preserve  the  American  market  for  American  pro- 
ducers, and  to  maintain  the  American  scale  of  wages,  by  ade- 
quate discriminating  duties  upon  foreign  competing  products. 
The  effect  of  lower  rates  and  larger  importations  upon  the 
public  revenue  is  contingent  and  doubtful,  but  not  so  the  effect 
upon  American  production  and  American  wages. 

Less  Work  and  Lower  Wages  Inevitable. 

Less  work  and  lower  wages  must  be  accepted  as  the  inevit- 
able result  of  the  increased  offering  of  foreign  goods  in  our 
market.  By  way  of  recompense  for  this  reduction  in  his 
wages,  and  the  loss  of  the  American  market,  it  is  suggested  that 
the  diminished  wages  of  the  workingman  will  have  an  undi- 
minished purchasing  power,  and  that  he  will  be  able  to  make 
up  for  the  loss  of  the  home  market  by  an  enlarged  foreign 
market.  Our  workingmen  liave  the  settlement  of  the  question 
in  their  own  hands.  They  now  obtain  higher  wages  and  live 
more  comfortably  than  those  of  any  other  country.  They  will 
make  choice  between  the  substantial  advantages  they  have  in 
hand  and  the  deceptive  promises  and  forecasts  of  those  theo- 
rizing reformers.  They  will  decide  for  themselves  and  for  the 
country  whether  the  protective  system  shall  be  continued  or 
destroyed. 

The  fact  of  a  treasury  surplus,  the  amount  of  which  is  vari- 
ously stated,  has  directed  public  attention  to  a  consideration  of 
the  methods  by  which  the  national  income  may  best  be  re- 
duced to  the  level  of  a  wise  and  necessary  expenditure.     This 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  473 

condition  has  been  seized  upon  by  those  who  are  hostile  to 
protective  custom  duties  as  an  advantageous  base  of  attack 
upon  our  tariff  laws.  They  have  magnified  and  nursed  the 
surplus,  which  they  affect  to  deprecate,  seemingly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exaggerating  the  evil  in  order  to  reconcile  the  people 
to  the  extreme  remedy  they  propose.  A  proper  reduction  of 
the  revenue  does  not  necessitate  and  should  not  suggest  the 
abandonment  or  impairment  of  the  protective  system.  The 
methods  suggested  by  our  convention  will  not  need  to  be  ex- 
hausted in  order  to  effect  the  necessary  reduction.  We  are  not 
likely  to  be  called  upon,  I  think,  to  make  a  present  choice  be- 
tween the  surrender  of  our  protective  system  and  the  entire 
repeal  of  the  internal  taxes.  Such  a  contingency,  in  view  of 
the  present  relation  of  expenditure  to  revenue,  is  remote.  The 
inspection  and  regulation  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  oleo- 
margarine is  important,  and  the  revenue  derived  from  it  is  not 
so  great  that  the  repeal  of  the  law  need  enter  into  any  plan  of 
revenue  reduction.  The  surplus  now  in  the  treasury  should 
be  used  in  the  purchase  of  bonds.  The  law  authorizes  this 
use  of  it,  and  if  not  needed  for  current  or  deficiency  appropria- 
tions, the  people,  and  not  the  banks  in  which  it  has  been  de- 
posited, should  have  the  advantage  of  its  use  by  stopping  inter- 
est upon  the  public  debt.  At  least,  those  who  needlessly 
hoard  it  should  not  be  allowed  to  use  the  fear  of  a  monetary 
stringency,  thus  produced,  to  coerce  public  sentiment  upon 
other  questions. 

The  Importation  of  Contract  Labor. 
Closely  connected  with  the  subject  of  the  tariff' is  that  of  the 
importation  of  foreign  laborers  under  contracts  of  service  to  be 


474  THE  RECORD  OF 

performed  here.  The  law  now  in  force  prohibiting  such  con- 
tracts received  my  cordial  sujDport  in  the  Senate,  and  such 
amendments  as  may  be  found  necessary  effectively  to  deliver 
our  workingmen  and  women  from  this  most  inequitable  form 
of  competition  will  have  my  sincere  advocacy.  Legislation 
prohibiting  the  importation  of  laborers  under  contracts  to  serve 
here  will,  however,  afford  very  inadequate  relief  to  our  work- 
ing people  if  the  system  of  protective  duties  is  broken  down. 
If  the  products  of  American  shops  must  compete  in  the  Amer- 
ican market,  witliout  favoring  duties,  with  the  products  of 
cheap  foreign  labor,  the  effect  will  be  different,  if  at  all,  only 
in  degree,  whether  the  cheap  laborer  is  across  the  street  or 
over  the  sea.  Such  competition  will  soon  reduce  wages  here 
to  the  level  of  those  abroad,  and  when  that  condition  is  reached 
we  will  not  need  any  laws  forbidding  the  importation  of  labor- 
ers under  contract — they  will  have  no  inducement  to  come, 
and  the  employer  no  inducement  to  send  for  them. 

In  the  earlier  years  of  our  history,  public  agencies  to  pro- 
mote immigration  were  common.  The  pioneer  wanted  a  neigh- 
bor with  more  friendly  instincts  than  the  Indian.  Labor  was 
scarce  and  fully  employed.  But  the  day  of  the  immigration 
bureau  has  gone  by.  While  our  doors  will  continue  to  be 
open  to  proper  immigration,  we  do  not  need  to  issue  special 
invitations  to  the  inhabitants  of  other  countries  to  come  to  our 
shores  or  to  share  our  citizenship.  Indeed,  the  necessity  of 
some  inspection  and  limitation  is  obvious.  We  should  reso- 
lutely refuse  to  permit  foreign  governments  to  send  their  pau- 
pers and  criminals  to  our  ports. 

We  are  also  clearly  under  a  duty  to  defend  our  civilization 
by  excluding  alien  races  whose  ultimate  assimilation  with  our 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  475 

people  is  neither  possible  nor  desirable.  The  family  has  been 
the  nucleus  of  our  best  immigration,  and  the  home  the  most 
potent  assimilating  force  in  our  civilization.  The  objections 
to  Chinese  immigration  are  distinctive  and  conclusive,  and  are 
now  so  generally  accepted  as  such  that  the  question  has  passed 
entirely  beyond  the  stage  of  argument.  The  laws  relating  to 
this  subject  would,  if  I  should  be  charged  with  their  enforce- 
ment, be  faithfully  executed.  Such  amendments  or  further 
legislation  as  may  be  necessary  and  proper  to  prevent  evasion 
of  the  laws  and  to  stop  further  Chinese  immigration  would  also 
meet  my  approval.  The  expression  of  the  convention  upon 
this  subject  is  in  entire  harmony  with  my  views. 

Plain  Words  about  Election  Frauds. 
Our  civil  compact  is  a  government  by  majorities  ;  and  the 
law  loses  its  sanction  and  the  magisti-ate  our  respect,  when 
this  compact  is  broken.  The  evil  results  of  election  frauds  do 
not  expend  themselves  upon  the  voters  who  are  robbed  of  their 
rightful  influence  in  public  affairs.  The  individual,  or  com- 
munity, or  party,  that  practices  or  connives  at  election  frauds 
has  suffered  irreparable  injury,  and  will  sooner  or  later  realize 
that  to  exchange  the  American  system  of  majority  rule  for 
minority  control  is  not  only  unlawful  and  unpatriotic,  but  very 
unsafe  for  those  who  promote  it.  The  disfranchisement  of  a 
single  legal  elector  by  fraud  or  intimidation,  is  a  crime  too 
grave  to  be  regarded  lightly.  The  right  of  every  qualified 
elector  to  cast  one  free  ballot  and  to  have  it  honestly  counted 
must  not  be  questioned.  Every  constitutional  power  should 
be  used  to  make  this  right  secure,  and  punish  frauds  upon  the 
ballot. 


47^  THE  RECORD  OF 

Our  colored  people  do  not  ask  special  legislation  in  their  in- 
terest, but  only  to  be  made  secure  in  the  common  rights  of 
American  citizenship.  They  will,  however,  naturally  mis- 
trust the  sincerity  of  those  party  leaders  who  appeal  to  their 
race  for  support  only  in  those  localities  where  the  suflVage  is 
free  and  election  results  doubtful,  and  compass  their  dis- 
franchisement where  their  votes  would  be  controlling  and  their 
choice  cannot  be  coerced. 

The  Nation,  not  less  than  the  states,  is  dependent  for  pros- 
perity and  security  upon  the  intelligence  and  morality  of  the 
people.  This  common  interest  very  early  suggested  national 
aid  in  the  establighnient  and  endowment  of  schools  and  col- 
leges in  tlie  new  states.  There  is,  I  believe,  a  present  exigenc\ 
that  calls  for  still  more  liberal  and  direct  appropriations  in  aid 
of  common  school  education  in  the  states. 

The  territorial  form  of  government  is  a  temporarv  expedient, 
not  a  permanent  civil  condition.  It  is  adapted  to  the  exigency 
that  suggested  it,  but  becomes  inadequate,  and  even  oppres- 
sive, when  applied  to  fixed  and  populous  communities.  Sev- 
eral territories  are  well  able  to  bear  the  burdens  and  discharge 
the  duties  of  free  commonwealths  in  the  American  Ihiion. 
To  exclude  them  is  to  deny  the  just  rights  of  their  people,  and 
may  well  excite  their  indignant  protest.  No  question  of  the 
political  preference  of  the  people  of  a  territory  should  close 
against  them  the  hospitable  door  which  has  opened  to  two- 
thirds  of  the  existing  states.  But  admission  should  be  reso- 
lutely refused  to  any  territory,  a  majority  of  whose  people 
cherish  institutions  that  are  repugnant  to  our  civilization  or  in- 
consistent with  a  republic;!!!  foi  !n  of  go\  c!"!i!iic!it. 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  477 

Against  all  Arbitrary   Combinations. 

The  declaration  of  the  convention  against  "  all  combinations 
of  capital,  organized  in  trusts  or  otherwise,  to  control  arbitrarily 
the  condition  of  trade  among  our  citizens,"  is  in  harmony  with 
the  views  entertained  and  publicly  expressed  by  me  long  be- 
fore the  assembling  of  the  convention.  Ordinarily,  capital 
shares  the  losses  of  idleness  with  labor,  but  under  the  opera- 
tion of  the  trust,  in  some  of  its  forms,  the  wage-worker  alone 
suffers  loss,  while  idle  capital  receives  its  dividends  from  a 
trust  fund.  Producers  who  refuse  to  join  the  combination  are 
destroyed,  and  competition  as  an  element  of  prices  is  elimina- 
ted. It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  legislative  authority  should 
and  will  find  a  method  of  dealing  fairly  and  eflectively  with 
these  and  other  abuses  connected  with  this  subject. 

It  can  hardly  be  necessary  for  me  to  say  that  I  am  heartily  in 
sympathy  with  the  declaration  of  the  convention  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  pensions  to  our  soldiers  and  sailors.  What  they  gave 
and  what  they  suffered,  I  had  some  opportunity  to  observe,  and 
in  a  small  measure  to  experience.  They  gave  ungrudgingly  ; 
it  was  not  a  trade,  but  an  offering.  The  measure  was  heaped 
up,  running  over.  What  they  achieved,  only  a  distant  gener- 
ation can  adequately  tell.  Without  attempting  to  discuss 
particular  propositions,  I  may  add  that  measures  in  behalf  of 
the  surviving  veterans  of  the  war,  and  of  the  families  of  their 
dead  comrades,  should  be  conceived  and  executed  in  a  spirit  of 
justice  and  of  the  most  grateful  liberality,  and  that,  in  the  com- 
petition for  civil  appointment,  honorable  military  service 
should  have  appropriate  recognition. 

The  law  regulating  appointments  to  the  classified  civil-ser- 


478  THE  RECORD  OF 

vice  received  my  support  in  the  Senate,  in  the  belief  that  it 
opened  the  w^ay  to  a  much-needed  reform.  I  still  think  so, 
and  therefore,  cordially  approve  the  clear  and  forcible  expres- 
sion of  the  convention  upon  this  subject.  The  law  should 
have  the  aid  of  a  friendly  interpretation,  and  be  faithfully  and 
vigorously  enforced.  All  appointments  under  it  should  be 
absolutely  free  from  partisan  considerations  and  influence, 
Some  extensions  of  the  classified  list  are  practicable  and  de- 
sirable, and  further  legislation  extending  the  reform  to  other 
branches  of  the  service,  to  which  it  is  applicable,  would  re- 
ceive my  approval.  In  appointments  to  every  grade  and 
department,  fitness,  and  not  party  service,  should  be  the 
essential  and  discriminating  test,  and  fidelity  and  efficiency  the 
only  sure  tenure  of  ofiice.  Only  the  interests  of  the  pub- 
lic service  should  suggest  removals  from  office.  I  know  the 
practical  difficulties  attending  the  attempt  to  apply  the  spirit  of 
the  civil-service  rules  to  all  appointments  and  removals.  It 
will,  however,  be  my  sincere  purpose,  if  elected,  to  advance 
the  reform. 

I  notice  witli  pleasure  that  the  convention  did  not  omit  to 
express  its  solicitude  for  the  promotion  of  virtue  and  temper- 
ance among  our  people.  The  Republican  partv  has  always 
been  friendly  to  every  thing  that  tended  to  make  the  home  life 
of  our  people  free,  pure,  and  prosperous,  and  will  in  the  future 
be  true  to  its  history  in  this  respect. 

A  Dignified  and  Firm  Foreign  Policy. 

Our  relations  with  foreign  powers  should  be  characterized 
by  friendliness  and  respect.     The  right  of  our  people  and  of 


THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY.  479 

our  ships  to  hospitable  treatment  should  be  insisted  upon  witli 
dignity  and  firmness.  Our  Nation  is  too  great,  both  in  ma- 
terial strength  and  in  moral  power,  to  indulge  in  bluster  or  to 
be  suspected  of  timorousness.  Vacillation  and  inconsistency 
are  as  incompatible  with  successful  diplomacy  as  they  are  with 
the  national  dignity.  We  should  especially  cultivate  and  ex- 
tend our  diplomatic  and  commercial  relations  with  the  Central 
and  South  American  States.  Onr  fisheries  should  be  fostered 
and  protected.  The  hardships  and  risks  that  are  the  necessary 
incidents  of  the  business  should  not  be  increased  by  an  inhos- 
pitable exclusion  from  the  near-lying  ports.  The  resources  of 
a  firm,  dignified,  and  consistent  diplomacy  are  undoubtedly 
equal  to  the  prompt  and  peaceful  solution  of  the  difficulties 
that  now  exist.  Our  neighbors  will  surely  not  expect  in  our 
port  a  commercial  hospitality  they  deny  to  us  in  theirs. 

I  cannot  extend  this  letter  b}^  a  special  reference  to  other 
subjects  upon  which  the  convention  gave  an  expression.  In 
respect  to  them,  as  well  as  to  those  I  have  noticed,  I  am  in  entire 
agreement  with  the  declarations  of  the  convention.  The  reso- 
lutions relating  to  the  coinage,  to  the  rebuilding  of  the  navy, 
to  coast  defenses,  and  to  public  lands,  express  conclusions  to 
all  of  which  I  gave  my  support  in  the  Senate. 

Inviting  a  calm  and  thoughtful  consideration  of  these  public 
questions,  we  submit  them  to  the   people.     Their   intelligent 
patriotism  and  the  good  Providence  that  made  and  has  kept  us 
a  Nation,  will  lead  them  to  wise  and  safe  conclusions. 
Very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

Benjamin  Harrison. 


The  Popular  Vote  for  President  in  1884. 


Alabama  

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Connecticut.  ... 

Delaware 

Florida 

tGeorgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts . . . 

Michigan 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nevada , 

New  Hampshire. 

New  Jersey 

New  York 

North  Carolina... 

Ohio , 

Oreffon 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode  Island.... 
South  Carolina., 

Tennessee , 

{Texas , 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West  Virginia. .  , 
Wisconsin 


Total 

Cleveland's  pluialitj 
Per  cent 


4,911,017 
1)2,683 

48.87 


•5  §• 


69,144 
60,89,5 
10'J,416 
3rt,16« 
66,898 
13,053 
28,031 
47,69'J 
337,411 
2.38,480 
197,089 
ld4,4(«5 
118,122 
46,347 
71,716 
85,748 
146,724 
192,669 
111,685 
43,509 
t202,929 
76,903 
7,193 
43,250 
123,366 
562,001 
125,0<!8 
400,082 
26,860 
473,804 
19.030 
21.733 
124,090 
91,701 
.39,514 
1.19.356 
t63,096 
161,157 


4,848,334 
48.26 


^t 


610 


2,920 

762 

2,494 

64 

72 

168 

12,005 

3,028 

1,4 

4,954 

3,139 

338 

2,143 

2,827 

9,925 

18,403 

4,684 


2,153 
2,899 


1,671 

6,153 

25,001 

454 

11,269 

49^ 

15,73'' 

928 


1,151 

3,508 

1,76;- 

138 

939 

7,666 


161,809 
1.51 


762 
1,847 

2,or 

1,961 

1,685 

10 


135 
10,849 
8,293 

16,34i 

1,693 

120 

8,994 

678 

24,382 

753 

8,583 


26 

662 

8,456 

17,002 


6,170 

726 

17,«<l2 

422 


957 
3,321 

785 


%  .& 

e  a 


33,829 
22,0;^2 


1,'- 
3,923 
8,738 
46,961 

"6,512 


34,839 
16,199 


11,118 


83,001 
33,059 


4,412 
1,047 
17,884 


48,031 

9,180 

131,978 


6,141 
4,221 


13,128 
8,663 


24,827 


19,773 
64,274 


20,060 

24",372 
3,3(-8 
41,620 


22,612 
1,615 
4,063 


31,796 
2,266 

81,019 
6,639 


22,183 
14,698 


406,706 


Electoral 
Vote. 


1 

^ 

fi 

.s 

6 

05 

10 

7 

8 

8 

6 

8 

4 

.... 

12 

.... 

22 

15 

1» 

» 

13 

.  .. 

H 

6 

« 

U 

13 

7 

9 

16 

5 

3 

4 

9 

86 

.... 

11 

.... 

n 

3 

80 

4 

9 

12 

13 

4 

12 

6 

11 

, 

219 

183 

The  total  popular  vote  for  President  in  1884  was  10,6ti",610 ;  the  total 
electoral  vote  waa  401. 


rr<